Like Father, Like Daughter
by Renolvr
Summary: After discovering his teenager daughter had been in a car crash, Reno unearths more truths about what happens to her when he's not around. He decides to step up and deal with the matters head-on, but being a father is harder than he thought it would be. A dichotomy emerges - can a father grow from the trampled seeds he's sown in the past?
1. News

_**A/N: Here's Chapter 1 :) **_

* * *

Tifa smiled to herself as she glanced around the almost full 7th Heaven; most of the faces were familiar, with a few usual customers in their self-designated corners. It was the usual Saturday evening routine; they all somehow ended up in the bar, wanting a drink was no longer a necessity, Seventh Heaven had become an unoffical meeting place between her friends and their families.

She preferred it that way. It reminded her of the first 7th Heaven, it had been used as a meeting place where they had all plotted against ShinRa. The bar she ran now was a far cry from the one she had owned in the slums; ShinRa, AVALANCHE and WRO members now sat in each others' company as allies and not sworn enemies.

Tifa fought the urge to roll her eyes as she watch her son, Ross, and his friend Robbie, aim kicks at each others' shins beneath the table. Robbie was Cid and Shera's son. The two of them were supposed to be studying, not bruising their shins. They had both turned eighteen a few months ago, and still neither of them showed any signs of growing up. Denzel had never been like that as a teenager; he'd helped out in the bar and had seldomly been in trouble in school. Ross, on the complete other hand, was the polar opposite; a week rarely went by without her or Cloud getting a call from the school or the principal himself regarding their son. Though his antics did seem to calm down whenever Cloud spoke to the principal instead of her.

She had wondered why he couldn't be more like his younger sister, Mai. But her perfect image had been shattered too; not only did Mai manage to get into just as much trouble as her brother, she was gifted with the ability to talk her way out of a situation, thanks to Reno's tutelage. Tifa blinked and glanced around the bar again, only then noticing the absence of the Turk.

"Where's Reno?"

Several heads turned and shoulders were shrugged before an explanation was offered, compliments of Elena as she smacked her and Tseng's son, Jared, over the back of his head. The teenager immediately handed Aiveen back her cellphone before his mother could land another strike.

"It's Saturday, he's probably off doing whatever he won't tell us about..."

In the years that had passed since the drama with Deepground, ShinRa, AVALANCHE and the WRO had formed a solid alliance. It had taken time to smooth out all the creases, but as a result they had all become firm friends.

It was due to this, that she and many of the others had noticed the Turk's odd disappearances at the weekends; Reno tended to go off the radar for a whole weekend every three or four weeks. She hadn't noticed at first, but after a couple of months she had asked him about it, but Reno had always smirked and refused to elaborate on what he got up to.

Not even Tseng or Rufus knew what he got up to. Either the Turks were extremely good at covering for Reno, or they genuinely had no idea about his personal life. Elena had told her how he had started disappearing after Meteor and Deepground, and had been doing so ever since. It didn't conflict with any of the missions he had been given, he had always taken care to fulfill his missions first, then disappear afterwards; it didn't interfere with his work, so Rufus and Tseng had no need to figure out what he got up to.

Tifa toyed with the idea for another few seconds before siding with the hung-over option. Whenever he did one of his disappearing acts, he did so from Friday evening to Monday morning, but Reno had been in the bar last night, so that ruled out his AWOL act this week.

She looked up as the door to the bar opened; Cloud entering with Denzel in tow. The two had been missing since early that morning, taking care of deliveries outside of Edge. A smile tugged the corners of her mouth as she watched her husband place a bundle of invoices in front of Ross, garnering a rather indignant glare from the eighteen-year-old.

"Nu-uh..."

Cloud ignored the teenager's wide eyes and open mouth. It wasn't a question. Denzel had helped out a lot, they'd had a lot of runs outside of Edge to take care of and Denzel had offered to take half. Mai had taken care of some smaller ones within the city earlier, while Ross had sat on his backside watching the television all day. Fair was fair.

"It wasn't a question."

Ross held his father's gaze for several seconds before glancing back to the stack of invoices; there was no way he'd win in a staring contest with him, and it didn't look like he could dig himself out of this hole. The blond groaned and scratched the back of his head as he rose from his seat. He knew from experience that if he put off doing the deliveries his father had given him, they would slowly grow in numbers; Denzel had a knack of slipping more into his work load when he wasn't paying attention. Ross had taken only two or three steps when someone's foot hooked around his, sending him sprawling on the floor.

He didn't even need to look up, he knew exactly who had tripped him. Ross shot Robbie a wary glare as he pulled himself up from the floor; he'd pay him back later, when he least expected it. There was no fun in trying to exact revenge if he expected it.

None of the four parents; Tifa, Cloud, Shera or Cid, even attempted to reprimand either of the two teenagers. Neither Cloud or Tifa tried to intervene as Mai entered the confrontation, due to Ross's failed attempt to trip her up as she passed by. While he wished for peace and quiet, he still found himself grateful for the fact that they could argue over stupid things. His teenage years had been spent trying to get into SOLDIER, followed by a lot of heartache and tragedies. They didn't have to worry about any of that now; they got to be teenagers and enjoy the childhoods and teenage years that their parents had been robbed of.

The fact that they were all here today was a miracle in itself. They had raised their respective families in a world free from Jenova and her puppets. Cid and Shera had been the first to settle down, and had been the first couple to have a kid. Once they had made the initial move, the rest of the gang had more or less followed the trend.

Some had found it more difficult than others; Rufus had been the last to settle down. But things hadn't gone exactly to plan. Cloud felt wrong for thinking it, but maybe the ancients hadn't thought ShinRa had repaid its' debt to the planet? Rufus girlfriend, Kirstyn, had died after Declan's birth. Rufus had been left with a baby and a company to balance, but it had worked out okay in the end.

Cloud shook himself from his thoughts as Ross's indignant voice rang out; the teenager stood at the bar, leaving through the bundle of invoices he had been left with.

"Ah Dad...these are all the weird customers! No way in hell am I doing the one for Mrs. Weste – it took me a solid hour to escape her last week! She keeps telling me about SOLDIER and stuff from Midgar – I wasn't born then, no offence or anything, but my interest in it equals zero."

Cloud fought back a smirk as he shrugged his shoulders and turned away from his disgusted son. The best thing about being a parent, in his opinion, was the entertainment value. He and Denzel had gone through the invoices earlier this morning, putting all the _interesting_ customers into a single bundle for Ross to take care of.

If he were to be reasonable and offer and explanation: Ross was going to University next year, fingers crossed, he would have to deal with things he didn't like there. He would have to work with people he wouldn't necessarily like; technically he was just being a good father and preparing his son for real life. Also, he had been stuck listening to Mrs. Weste's ramblings two weeks ago, and was in no rush to listen to the woman again.

"Tough Ross. It's either those or the two in Kalm. Your choice."

"I'll do the two in Kalm if I can use Fenr-"

"Not a hope."

Ross groaned as he started to divide the invoices into their seperate streets; that was one argument he would never win. And not for lack of trying. His father never left him or Denzel anywhere near Fenrir. He guessed it didn't help that the two of them had trashed one of Rufus's company bikes by accident last year ... definitely not ShinRa technology at its finest.

"Awww, does ickle Rossy have to work today?"

The eighteen-year-old kicked his leg out; not bothering to look up as his older brother ruffled his hair. Doing the deliveries was bad enough without having to listen to him gloating. If he were a good brother, he would offer to help, but Denzel much preferred to watch him suffer.

Denzel laughed as he skipped around his brother's leg and sat on a bar-stool; two stools seperated the siblings, it was a safety distance in Denzel's eyes. Ross acted the idiot, but he was much smarter and sneakier than he let on. This way, the younger of the duo couldn't sneak up on him.

He wasn't entirely sure why Ross complained so much about Mrs. Weste, she wasn't the worst of their customers, she came in close second or third, but she wasn't the definitate worst. There was Mr. Magrew, who had been telling Denzel the same story, every week, since he'd started helping Cloud when he'd been ten. There was also Ms. Len, who had a fixation with trying to feed him. And then there was old Mr and Mrs. Seeley, who were convinced that he was their long-lost grand-nephew. The young man ducked as a paper ball flew dangerously close to his head.

"Ah-ah! Be a good little boy now."

Denzel shifted to the stool next to him; the safety distance between him and Ross had narrowed itself to one while he'd taken his eyes off the blond. He laughed as the teenager shot him a dirty look before returning to the bundle, oblivious to the fact that their Dad had taken the opportunity to slip a few more invoices into his work-load.

The smile remained on his face as he walked behind the bar and fished a drink from one of the small refridgerators, ducking to avoid another paper ball as he grabbed the television remote from the counter. He began to idly flick through the channels as he side-stepped another couple of paper balls; Ross needed to work on his aim.

Denzel's smile faltered as his eyes locked onto the television screen; he hated seeing things like this on the news...it reminded him of the news reports ShinRa had issued when sector seven had collapsed. The young man spoke quietly as he highered the volume; he ignored the paper ball that struck the back of his head.

"It's in Costa del Sol..."

The chatter of the bar dwindled into silence as, one by one, people turned their attention to the television; a young, female reporter stood in a torrential downpour, her black umbrella doing little to keep her dry. Behind her lay the wreckage of a small, dark blue car. The car lay partially wedged beneath a large truck.

No one spoke as the woman listed the names of the people in the blue car, and explained what had happened; the truck had skidded and failed to stop at a junction; the car had been carrying three teeangers from the local public secondary school. Denzel felt himself cringe as the woman listed the teenagers' ages: seventeen, seventeen and eighteen; now he understood why his Dad wouldn't leave Ross use Fenrir. He didn't want the kluts to end up on some news report like this one.

Attention was torn away from the television screen as a bar stool scrapped back along the wooden floor of the bar. Before anyone could question the Turk's actions, Rude had already pulled his phone from his pocket and stepped outside the door.

* * *

Reno fumbled for his phone; its shrill ringing only added to his splitting headache. He groaned into his pillow as he heard it hit the floor. Why were people ringing him this early? Maybe it wasn't early, but it was Saturday, he was entitled to sleep all day if he wanted to. He'd been at 7th Heaven last night, they _**knew**_ he was hungover. If it turned out to be Elena or Yuffie calling him to gloat over how hungover he was, he'd seriously give them hell to pay for come Monday. It wouldn't be the first time the ninja had pulled something like that. The turk grinned to himself as the ringing subsided; he rolled over and put all of his semi-conscious concentration into going back asleep.

But just as sleep began to reclaim him, the shrill tone of his phone shattered the silence once more. Reno sat bold upright in his bed, now fully awake and aware that he wasn't going to be allowed any more sleep today. He made a mental note to switch his phone onto silent next weekend. The turk wiped sleep from his eyes and blinked as he tried to decipher the caller ID. The rehearsed rant he'd been preparing for Yuffie vanished as he realised it was Rude calling...and had been for the last three or four calls. He lay back across his bed as he flipped the phone open:

"Yo, what's up partner?"

"Turn on the news."

Reno pulled himself upright once more and sat on the edge of his bed; an uneasy prickling sensation crept up the back of his neck as he noticed the severity of Rude's voice. Generally speaking, he did enough talking for bother of them. Rude had been his partner for years; he was one of his closest friends; Reno knew when something wasn't right. Possibilities began to flash through his mind – had something happened at the ShinRa building? Or with the WRO? Or worse yet, Sephiroth and his three puppets?

"Why? What's going on?"

"Just do it, Reno."

"What the hell's going on?"

Silence met his answer; just when he was about to give up on an answer, Rude spoke quietly.

"It's Arleen."

Any thoughts of Sephiroth and the three remnants, ShinRa, or the WRO were cast aside as the Turk snapped his phone shut and lept from his bed. A sickening knot tightened itself in his stomach as he rushed through the hall and into the living are of his apartment, narrowly avoiding the corner of the coffee table as he scanned the area for the television remote.

If it was on the news, then it was bad. Reno found himself wishing it had been something to do with the past ghosts of ShinRa; he could deal with that. He gave up his search for the remote and quickly began flicking through channels via the buttons on the television, stopping as he finally found the channel he'd been looking for.

Reno felt the bottom of his stomach give way to the lead weight that had formed from his apprehension; he knew the registration plate of the car; he knew that stretch of road; he knew why they'd been travelling on that road; he knew the school-bags and books that littered the road...he knew the three names the young woman listed in her report.

"Arly."

He backtracked until his calves bet the edge of the sofa; he sat down in a daze as the reporter continued with her report. She was speaking, but he heard none of her words. All the Turk could see was the familiar car; deformed, smashed and partially wedged beneath the truck that stretched across the road. Reno sat in silence as he tried to organise his spinning thoughts: Ryan almost always drove Arleen home...why hadn't Kelly called him already? He stood and raced back to his room, tossing his duvet aside and grabbing his phone. He scrolled through his call register, almost hoping he had missed a call from the woman, but he hadn't.

It was only as he closed the phone, that he realised he was shaking. He stood and stared dumbly down at his hands; why was he shaking? He'd gone through countless dangerous missions and stared death in the face on several occassions...and now he stood in his apartment; his stomach knotted and fear chilling him to his core. Why? Because he didn't know. He didn't know how badly hurt his daughter was.

Reno shook himself from his stupor, quickly deciding on a plan of action. He threw on the clothes he had discarded the night before; a worn pair of jeans and plain black t-shirt. He walked into the living area again as he dialed Rude's number, while slipping on a pair of sneakers; he spoke before the man had time ask anything.

"I'm going to Costa del Sol."

"What about work-"

"Right now, I care more about my daughter than my job. Can you explain what's going on to the others? I haven't got the time or patience for questions. I'll call you when I know what's going on."

He hung up before Rude could answer. He grabbed his wallet and keys from the kitchen counter, then headed for the door. He couldn't face all the confusion and disbelief right now. Rude was better at explaining things anyhow; he'd cover all the explanations while he was gone. Right now, all he wanted to do was get to Costa del Sol and make sure his daughter was okay.

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_**A/N: Hope it was an improvement on its first draft and thanks for taking the time to read ;)**_

_**3rd Revision - 18/04/11**_


	2. Crash

_**A/N: Here's Chapter 2 :)**_

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"Need a lift home?"

Arleen nodded slowly, not bothering to look up as she tried to pry a folder from the back of her locker; this school was in serious need of larger lockers, she could barely fit all her books in the one she had. But yeah, a lift home would be highly appreciated. It was still pouring rain outside and her Mom definitely wasn't going to be picking her up. It wasn't as if her mother made a habit of collecting her, but today would be a definite no-show.

A smirk found its way to her lips as she managed to jerk the folder free of the cramped locker. She hoped Ryan never decided to charge her for gas money, she'd be broke in no time. Ryan was her life-line when it came to lifts home. She did decline his offer at times, opting for walking instead. But seven out of ten times she took the offer.

"Yup, please. Mom and I got into another argument, I bailed before she could run off and tell Chris."

The seventeen-year-old ducked as someone opened the locker above her head; she'd banged her head off the corner of its door before, not fun. She hated having to be here on a Saturday, it was bad enough without getting into fights with locker doors.

Costa del Sol was one of the few cities on Gaia which implemented an extra day of school. As far as she could remember, it had always been that way for secondary schools. Primary schools still operated on the usual five-day-week. A lot of the the major cities on Gaia had added the extra day for senior schools in order to increase grades and decrease the numbers of loitering youths.

If she looked really closely, Arleen could see the logic in it; Costa del Sol was a resort city; people flocked to the city when the weather was good and many companies used the city as a vacation location for their employees. It didn't look good to have teenagers fighting or causing trouble in the streets. It was much more acceptable and held more appeal to have them in school with good grades.

Arleen didn't fully agree with the Mayor's logic; people either wanted to do well in an exam or they accepted that they were going to flunk it. The same with fighting. Teenagers didn't go around the city looking for fights, they generally had good reasons for getting into such situation.

That said, the problem of fights had decreased greatly in recent years. Her Mom's fiancé had started up several gyms and boxing clubs around Costa del Sol around four or five years ago, he'd even managed to franchise to surrounding cities and larger towns.

"Hallooo!"

Arleen bit back a laugh as she watched Ryan jump, a guilty-looking Toni standing behind him. Toni had a habit of sneaking up on people, she was also brilliant when it came to talking her way out of situations. Arleen usually grabbed a hold of her whenever she got into trouble with the principal; he tended to go easier on her after listening to Toni for five or ten minutes.

"Aww, did I frighten you, hun?"

Ryan grinned as he looked down the four inches that separated him from his girlfriend's height, mockingly innocent eyes blinked back up at him.

Arleen ducked as a hand made to tap the back of her head. She stuck her right leg out and managed to catch the person's ankle. He'd managed to catch her with that last week, which had ended with her trying to stand back up too fast, colliding with the open door of the locker above her own. Arleen stuck her tongue out as she fought to full her key from her locker's lock; Anthony Clarkson was one of the fe teachers she actually got on well with. He had transferred to Costa del sol a few weeks after she had started fifth year.

Even though she had been adamant on disagreeing with the man, he hadn't yelled at her when she'd neglected to do homework. He hadn't issued her detentions when she'd been late. He hadn't once reported her to the principal, though she had given him numerous reasons to do so. He had taken everything she'd thrown at him and sat there.

Arleen winked as the man staggered before reclaiming his balance and walking on. She glanced to the clock over the door before bending down to pick up her bag. She grimaced as pain shot across the top of her right shoulder. Rolling her eyes, the seventeen-year-old quickly switched the bag to her other shoulder, then turned to follow her partners-in-crime out to the parking lot.

"You got in the front, Arleen. I lost five gil in the back yesterday and I refuse to leave anyone back there till I find it!"

Arleen nodded as her friend skipped on ahead. She tossed her bag haphazardly into the trunk of Ryan's car before climbing into the passenger seat; she watched Ryan shaking his head as the brunette of the trio started her search for the gil in the back of his car.

Arleen pulled down the sun-visor as she pulled her seat-belt across her chest, slipping the strap under her arm; she hated having it across her chest, it annoyed her when it rubbed off of her neck and cheek. She used the small mirror in the sun-visor to look back at Toni, who was still moving around nad shoving her hands down the sides of the seats in search for her elusive five gil.

"When's your Dad coming again?"

The seventeen-year-old blinked as she tore her eyes away from the small mirror and looked back to Ryan. What did he need her Dad for. He generally only spoke to him if he needed advice on something that he couldn't talk to his Mom about. He hadn't been in trouble lately though.

"Um, about three weeks, why?"

A frown found its way to her lips as she watched Ryan shoot Toni an odd look via the rear-view mirror. That was never good. She knew from experience that they either knew something she didn't, or they were planning something that involved her. Either way, it meant something was going over her heard and she didn't like it. She did not like being left out of the loop with things.

Several more uneasy moments passed before Ryan sighed and spoke again, his eyes remained locked stonily onto the road ahead.

"Do us a favour when you see him again?"

"Depends on what the favour is."

"Tell him. Either that or I will, Arleen."

Arleen shot her friend a wary glare as she felt her temper flair into life. He knew he wasn't supposed to mention this. It was an unspoken agreement between the three of them; if she didn't talk about it, then they didn't ask about it. Arleen took a breath as she prepared to launch head-long into a rant, but was cut off as Ryan met her gaze with a steely look before switching back to look at the road again.

"Argue all you like, this is serious shit, Arleen. And you just sit there and leave him away with every day. You keep your mouth shut much longer and you're gonna get seriously hurt. You've already had broken ribs before, and I know something's happened to your shoulder. Don't think I didn't see how quick you switched your bag to your left shoulder earlier."

Arleen frowned as she crossed her arms and sunk back into her seat. She had only ever told them about what really went on once. But she knew most of her class knew. Having said that, they all operated under the same rule: if she didn't mention it, then they didn't either. It didn't take a genius to realise the bruises and cuts she came to school with, weren't all caused by fights and sparring in the boxing club. They all knew who her Mom's fiancé was and they all knew he had virtually forced her into one of his boxing clubs.

They all saw a slightly pushy man who wanted to be successful and produce talented athletes. They didn't see the monster he was when none of them were looking. Arleen had never had a good relationship with her mother. She didn't know why things were so fraught between them, but a mother-daughter relationship had simply never materialised between them. As far back as she could remember, the highlights of her childhood had always been her Dad's monthly visits. He could only stay for a few days when he visited because of his work and the custody details. But she always looked forward to those days, particularly in the last two years.

At least Chris couldn't hurt her when her Dad was around. He couldn't push her around or knock her down. He was barely civil to her Dad, but he couldn't hit her or yell at her for those few days. But then her Dad would go back to Edge and she would be stuck in the middle of World War III for the next three weeks until he visited again. But she couldn't tell her Dad about this. She loved him and trusted him more than anyone, but she knew him too; he would flip. And then so would Chris...it would just make everything worse.

"Things'll get worse..."

Arleen unintentionally jumped as Toni popped up alongside the head-rest of her seat, slipping her arms around her neck in a loose hug. The brunette couldn't understand why her didn't realise they were only trying to help her. The would never do something that would land her in danger or trouble. They both knew her Dad really well, especially Ryan. He had gotten to know Reno better than he'd wanted to a few years ago.

Ryan didn't have a Dad, his Mom had raised him on her own. She had always managed without help until a few years ago when Ryan had started arguing with her and doing anything he could just to try her patience. Sandra had tried to talk to her son, but he had just ignored her. Then he had made the stupid decision to get confrontational with his Mom, which had led to her asking Reno to sit the teenager down and talk to him from a male's perspective. That hadn't exactly gone to work either. Ryan had mouthed off and acted like a jerk, but he hadn't expected the Turk to give him a taste of his own medicine; her boyfriend had come to his senses pretty fast once he'd found himself pinned against a wall by Arleen's Dad.

"We're your friends. If the Wicked Witch won't help, then we will – whether you want us to or not, Arly!"

Arleen smiled in spite of her bad mood; that was the name her Dad called her by. He'd started calling her that when she'd been little as a way of annoying her mother, but it had ended up catching on in the end. That was something they both had a genuine interest in, annoying her Mom. Arleen knew it didn't help their non-existent relationship, but she also knew there would never be a relationship there. By willingly annoying her, it gave some reason to the fights they had.

But, what if telling her Dad made matters worse? Arleen bid down on the nail of thumb as she genuinely gave the idea some thought. Could things actually get worse than they were right now? Noe even Ryan and Toni knew the full extent of how bad things were. Not many words could describe how her mother's fiancé made her feel, even hate fell short when she tried to describe her feelings towards the man. But if things got worse, then what did she do after that? If her Dad knew that Chris could hurt her, he'd step inbetween them, she knew that for certain. But was if fair to drag him into...what other choice did she have? She was running out of options.

"Okay...I'll talk to him about stuff when he's here next -"

"Promise?"

"Promise. Umm, what're you doing down there?"

Arleen furrowed her brow in confusion as she watched her friend through the sun-visor mirror; Toni was still crawling around the back of the car, trying to look through the small gap where the seat-belt met the seat.

"Looking for my gil!"

"Be hard for her to find it down there."

Arleen tore her confused, yet amused, gaze away from Toni and looked back to Ryan.

"Why's that?"

"Coz it's in my back pocket since about eight this morning."

Arleen hid her grin behind her hand as Toni reappeared next to her, wondering why she had suddenly fallen into a fit of laughter. Toni shot her red-headed friend her own confused look, before shrugging her shoulders and returning to her fruitless search.

"Ugh...how come it never just drizzles here, it always pours? Hey, how come it rains here anyhow? It's a resort, it's supposed to be sunny – you never see rainy brochures or postcards of this place!"

Toni sat back into her seat as the rain continued to hammer against the windows of the car. It was already dark outside. The lead-coloured sky showed no signs of letting up anytime soon either. She'd gotten her gil though; Arleen had told her of its hiding place in Ryan's jeans about fifteen minutes ago. The oldest of the three had found himself minus five gil in the same amount of seconds. Toni sighed loudly as she drew a smiley face in the condensation on the window.

"So, are we still going out tonight or not? This rain is really making me think a DVD night would be more fun..."

"DVD night sounds good to me...here Arley, text my Mom and let her know."

Arleen caught Ryan's cell as he tossed it onto her lap; she typed out a quick message and sent it to his Mom, asking if it was okay if she and Toni stayed over tonight instead of the three of them going out. It seemed like a good compromise to her. She liked going out, but the idea of getting soaked wasn't exactly appealing. Whereas popcorn, ice-cream and a rented DVD seemed way more fun.

"I vote DVD night – and we're getting a horror movie – I'm sick of lovey-dovey stuff!"

Toni frowned as she sat sideways along the back seat of the car, drawing one of her knees and leaning her elbows on it. Horror movies weren't really her thing. Arleen and Ryan loved them, but she was the scardy-cat of the group. She was a comedy or chic-flick kinda girl. But she had been allowed to pick the movies for the last two DVD nights, it had only been a matter of time until either of the other two objected.

"Ooookay...but if I need to go to the bathroom, one of you'll have to come with me...I am sooo not going on my own."

"D'aww, poor little Toni's afraid of the dark, aww – shit!"

Arleen felt her stomach lurch as Ryan curse mid-tease and hit the brakes; a large truck had pulled out across the road ahead of them. The sound of screeching tyres filled her ears, drowning out the hammering rain; a weightless sensation engulfed them all as the car continued forward, skidding on the water-logged road. Everything was happening in slow motion. Arleen ignored the vibration of Ryan's cell as the truck seemed to double in size. She gasped as time snapped back to its usual speed; a deafening bang set her ears ringing as her head jerked forward, then slammed against her window. She heard Toni's cry of surprise before the brunette was sent hurtling into the back of Ryan's seat.

* * *

**_A/N: I know it's a little short, but I didn't include this in the original draft, I think it makes more sense when I include this instead of just glancing over it. Anyhow, if you see any spelling mistakes or so on, can you please PM me or let me know? If it's not too much of an inconvenience, of course. I thoroughly believe that fanfiction adds spelling mistakes when you upload stuff :( I swear, I've read through this chapter about three times before uploading it, just to make sure I didn't make any stupid mistakes, I read through this after uploading and it's like 'oh my god...I'm not that bad at spelling' :O_**


	3. Questions

_**A/N: Here's chapter 3 :)**_

* * *

"What was that about?"

Tseng frowned as his wife set about questioning Rude. The man was usually silent, even during missions he retained his intimidating and silent persona; he remained quiet while his sunglasses hid what his eyes might reveal. But Tseng had worked with him long enough to notice when something wasn't right.

Why had he gone outside? Tseng was willing to assume it had something to do with the news report that Denzel had turned on. He was also willing to guess that the man had contacted Reno; the two were close friends outside of work. Anyone else he had reason for contacting was already at the bar, Reno was the only one absent. Tseng was certain that Rude knew what the red-head got up to during his absent weekends, but it was their business and not Turk business. The head-Turk waited another few seconds, allowing his wife to finish her questions, before making a decision and turning to face the group of teenagers.

"Out. Go help Ross with the deliveries and don't rush back."

Ross glanced up, taking a breath to argue against being kicked out of his own home, but the eighteen-year-old quickly shut his mouth again as he thought better of the command; he was adamant that his father had slipped several more invoices into his bundle. They were relatively easy runs, but there were still a lot of them. If he kept his mouth shut and agreed with Tseng, then he would get help with the deliveries.

He could also give Mrs. Weste to Robbie, that could be the payback for tripping him earlier. If they got the deliveries done fast enough, then they could double-back and eavesdrop on whatever it was that Tseng didn't want them to know about. If that didn't work, he'd just ask Denzel what the deal was later.

Jared groaned as he grew tired of his father's constant gaze; he pulled himself up and took a handful of the invoices from Ross. Arguing with his Dad would get them nowhere. At least if it were his Mom, he'd stand half a chance; he could talk her around to their way of thinking or ask her questions until she relented and let him win.

His Dad didn't work that way though. He didn't get tired of listening to arguments. He didn't get distracted. He just stood and stared until the argument was abandoned. Jared pushed Robbie through the door ahead of him, knowing that the blond would have a smart comment or a few choice words for everyone if he were the last one out the door, then they'd all be in trouble when they got back.

Tseng turned back to Rude as the door closed behind the teenagers. He took a breath to return to his questions but stopped as the door of 7th Heaven swung open again. Several heads turned, all expecting to see one or two of the teenagers back to argue their case, but they all found themselves staring at Denzel's girlfriend instead. Tseng waited for a few moments while Rayna seated herself on Denzel's lap, then faced Rude once more, determined to actually ask his question this time.

"What does that crash have to do with Reno?"

He could never accuse his boss of not paying attention outside of work. Rude sighed and put his phone on the counter of the bar. He would thank Reno for the job of explaining when he got back. He didn't blame him for going to Costa del Sol straight away. But how was he supposed to go about explaining this? He hoped Arleen was okay, he hadn't seen the girl in over a year, but that didn't change his or Reno's relationship with the her; Reno would die if something happened to her. He might play the fool at times, but he kept his weaknesses hidden to protect them and himself; Arleen was his biggest weakness.

Rude glanced around the bar, only then realising how silent everyone had become. Reno had asked him to explain, so he would, regardless of how awkward it was or how disbelieving they would be. At least he only had to explain, Reno would be the one greeted with a game of twenty-questions when he got back.

"Reno's monthly absences are due to a custody agreement he has with his ex, Kelly McKenzie."

Denzel grimaced as his foot slipped from the rung of his stool, he caught Rayna around the waist before she slipped from his lap, then quickly steadied himself with his free hand by gripping the counter of the bar. His blue eyes shot back to Rude, mouth open with a mixture of shock and disbelief.

_Custody_, a custody agreement implied that there was a kid involved ... Reno had a kid? The Turk who had been responsible for the collapse of Sector 7, the man who managed to get smashed in 7th Heaven on a regular basis went off to play Daddy? Denzel frowned as Rayna's chestnut eyes shot him a wary glare, warning him not to do that while she was sitting on his lap again, her hand had his forearm gripped tightly; afraid that he would let her slip again.

"Sorry ... foot slipped. Reno has a kid?"

Rude nodded slowly. He had expected that remark of exclamation to come from one of the parents, not Denzel. It was going to be a long night of questions; they would all want to know why Reno had never mentioned Arleen to any of them. Rude glanced back to his phone, ensuring that he hadn't missed a call or text from his friend. He sighed once more as he rested the phone back down on the counter of the bar and took the silence as an incentive to explain further.

"Mmm. Reno has a daughter, Arleen. She's seventeen and lives in Costa del Sol with her mother."

Elena gasped as realization clicked, she stood quickly, one hand over her mouth as she spun to face Rude. The news reporter had listed the names of the teenagers who had been in the small, dark blue car. Arleen McKenzie had been one of the names. Rude had already mentioned Reno's ex and her surname. She was still reeling from the thought of Reno being a parent, but Elena knew from experience that Reno operated by his own rules. She just hoped she had jumped to the wrong conclusion.

"Was she one of the teenagers the reporter mentioned?"

Rude nodded quickly, glancing to his phone again. He was more worried than he was willing to admit. It may have been over a year since he'd seen Arleen, but she was still his god-daughter and he cared about her like she was family. He prayed that the crash looked worse than it actually was.

Rufus watched his Turks carefully; Tseng and Elena had not known, their surprise was obvious. He definitely hadn't known either. It explained Reno's AWOL moments and disappearances...but, a daughter? Why didn't ShinRa have a record of this? Why hadn't the Turk told him or any of the other Turks about her? He acknowledged that the old ShinRa of Midgar had used families and children as leverage; they had targeted them to get what they'd wanted.

But this was _**his**_ ShinRa, not his father's. He had a son and he wouldn't allow anyone to target him. Reno was the last of his employees he had expected to have a child, but why the secrecy? Was he hiding something else, or simply trying to protect himself?

Rufus sat up from where he'd been leaning back in his seat, silently contemplating. Shock or not, Rude rarely spoke, let alone lied. If he was saying this, then it was the truth. Reno had a teenage daughter and she been involved in, what looked to be, a serious road collision. He wasn't heartless, he knew what he would have done if it had been Declan in that car; the company could wait.

"Where is he?"

"Costa del Sol."

* * *

Reno scanned the wide corridor as he stepped through the swinging doors of the stairwell; there had been too many people waiting for the lift and he hadn't felt like wasting time ... little had he known how many stairs there were, the hospital rivaled the ShinRa building where stairs were concerned. It didn't help his mood that he was already soaked to the skin, he had only run from the parking lot to the doors of the hospital and the rain had drenched him, trust him not to grab a jacket before leaving.

He had spoken to Ryan's mother, Sandra, about half an hour ago. She had called him just after he'd left Edge, to inform him of the crash. She'd been calling and texting him every hour or so with updates on Arleen, along with some questions she'd needed, in order to fill out some paper work and forms for Arleen. He was grateful for her help, obviously Kelly hadn't gone to the hospital, if she had then Sandra wouldn't have been left to fill out paperwork for him.

Reno side-stepped two nurses as he meandered through the people clogging the corridor. He blinked as he noticed the majority of them were teenagers: all either leaning against or sitting against the walls of the corridor. He recognised a few of them from Arleen's class. His eyes snapped up as they caught a flash of a white coat; Sandra was stood at the nurses' station with a doctor. He pushed his way through more teenagers as he made a beeline for the woman. Kelly wasn't here yet, he would have seen her bleached tresses already. Not that he particularly cared about her, but she had a moral and maternal obligation to show up.

"Hey, Reno!"

Reno spun on his heel, slipping on the wet, tattered hem of his jeans, he put a hand out and grabbed the teenager who had called him. He looked back up as he found his balance, recognising the youngster from Arleen's Engineering class, Cian. His parents owned a small accessory shop that specialised in making softs, ShinRa usually bought a small amount from the shop whenever they were in need of softs, it was the company's way of keeping the shop in business and keeping on friendly terms with the resort city.

"Yo, walk and fill me in?"

Cian pushed himself from the wall and fell into stride with the taller male. He'd guessed that Reno would show up sooner or later, most of their year knew that Arleen's parents didn't get on well, but they all preferred Reno to Kelly. He was the one who showed up when it mattered, regardless of how far away he lived. The man had intimidated him the first few times they'd met, his rank in the Turks had done nothing to help that matter. But Reno was cool, what you saw was what you got.

"Last I heard, Arleen was gone for an MRI, they're still working on Ryan, but Toni ... she, uhh, she didn't make it."

Reno ground to a halt and looked to the teenager; he wasn't lying, his eyes were glassy and threatening to allow some tears to escape. It was only then that he realised why all the teenagers lined the corridor; they'd all been together since first year, they'd all spent five years in the same class and now three of their friends had been hurt...one killed. Toni was gone, the hyperactive girl he'd spent ages laughing at ... Reno closed his eyes and sighed heavily; he put a hand on Cian's shoulder and pushed him back towards his group of friends. The would be better with comforting him than he would. He wasn't exactly the best when it came to dealing with emotional stuff.

"Thanks, Cian."

Reno walked on, though slower than before. He ignored the odd looks he received from some of the people in the corridor. He looked around again, hoping against odds to spot Kelly or Chris, he wanted her to be here, even just to prove him wrong for once. Arleen deserved for her mother to care. However, his eyes came to rest on two other individuals, Adam and Becca; Toni's parents. Becca was folded into her husband's shoulder. Reno could only assume she was crying. He met Adam's eyes and shook his head a small bit, hoping his eyes expressed how he felt, he knew words would only fall short. He had always been on good terms with them, but what was he supposed to say? _Sorry that your daughter's dead and mine's alive?_

"Reno, when did you get here?"

The Turk spun as someone grabbed his arm, hiding the fact that he had jumped. He felt lost, a few hours ago he'd been sound asleep in his bed, and now he was standing in a hospital in Costa del Sol, his daughter was hurt and one of her best friends were dead. He shook himself from his daze as Sandra waved a hand in front of his face.

"I only just got here – Ryan?"

Sandra pulled him over towards the nurses' station as she spoke. She knew Reno pretty well at this stage, he usually crashed at her home when he came to visit Arleen. He had helped her out when Ryan had gotten too big for his boots a few years back. Above all that, he was a close friend, simple as that. She had known Kelly wouldn't call him. The woman wouldn't breathe, only for it benefited her and no one else.

"They're still working on him ... here, i filled out as much of Arleen's details as I could, but they need a parent or guardian to fill out the rest hun."

Reno nodded and took the clipboard from Sandra's hand as a doctor called her away. He quickly leafed through the pages, filling in dates and ticking the boxes that Sandra had left blank. The woman was a life-saver. The Turk scanned two more pages before coming to a halt as he spotted a cell number he didn't recognise. He knew Kelly's cell, along with the first half of Chris's number, he knew Arleen's, Toni's and Ryan's, but it wasn't any of theirs. He furrowed his brow and looked around quickly before collaring one of the nurses.

"Sorry, possible dumb question here, but who owns this contact number?"

The young nurse smiled as she took the clipboard from the man, she turned it the right-side up and looked at the number before handing the clipboard back to the man.

"We have Arleen's mother's contact details on-file, but she must have changed her cell. We were unable to reach her this evening or when Arleen was here previously. This number was left by a teacher from Arleen's school several weeks ago, when he brought her here."

His confusion didn't lift. Kelly had the same cell number with the last three or four years. Why was she ignoring calls from the hospital? And why had one of Arleen's teachers brought her to the hospital? Arleen hadn't told him about that, she hadn't been ill – Sandra would have told him if she had been – so, why had a teacher taken the responsibility to take her here and not her own mother?

Reno tore himself away from his own questions as he heard a woman cry out. He scribbled his name on the last page, not caring that it was veering of the line at an angle, then quickly put his own cell number under his signature before handing the clipboard back to the young nurse. He turned his full attention to the woman he'd heard shouting.

Sandra was shaking head at two doctors; tears had already began to streak her cheeks as she backed away, unwilling to accept what they were saying. Reno cursed beneath his breath as he went to the woman, already knowing that had her so upset.

"Sandra..."

She shook her head. Her green eyes met his blue ones, begging for him to believe her. She wanted him to back her up and tell her they were wrong ... her baby couldn't be gone. They had been working on him, that meant he would be okay. They were wrong. It was some sick joke Ryan had thought up to scare her...

"Th...they're wrong, aren't they?"

Reno shook his head slowly as he rested his hands on her arms. They weren't wrong. He knew from looking to the two doctors that they took no enjoyment in being correct tonight. They didn't like or enjoy being right on matters such as this, but they weren't wrong.

Sandra glared at the Turk as she pushed away. Why wasn't he agreeing with her? Why wasn't he yelling at the doctors for being wrong? Why wasn't he pushing past them and bringing her to see her son ... why didn't he believe her?

"They're wrong – tell me they're wrong Reno!"

Reno cringed as Sandra screamed at him. He held onto her arms, even though she tried to pull away. He didn't want her to run off when she wasn't thinking clearly, the last thing they all needed tonight was someone else getting hurt. He didn't flinch when her hand met his cheek, he just held her gaze until he saw the anger crumble, giving way to grief ... Reno swallowed hard as Sandra's knees buckled beneath her, he sank to the ground with her, holding her as she cried.

Ryan was the closest thing he'd had to a nephew, he didn't want to say son. He had a daughter, he didn't need any other kid besides her. And now he was gone too. Toni and Ryan ... the two of them were dead. Reno tucked Sandra's head beneath his chin as she half-heartedly thumped his chest in protest, her words lost in intangible sobs. He didn't want to go through that, he didn't want to feel the pain Sandra and Toni's parents were feeling ... he didn't want to lose his daughter.

* * *

**_A/N: Thanks for taking the time to read ;) If you spot any typos, please don't hesitate to PM (if it's not too much trouble), I'm still adamant that they get added in when you upload your document file to this :P _**

**_Last revision: 27/04/11_**


	4. Answers

_**A/N: Here's chapter 4 :)**_

* * *

Today was his day for figuring stuff out. A week had passed since Rude had called him and told him to turn on the news, but this was the first time in those seven days that he'd had time to think clearly. He had stayed at Sandra's the night of the crash, sleeping on her sofa. He hadn't wanted her to be alone, Adam and Becca had each other to confide in; Sandra had few people to lean on besides Ryan.

The funerals had been two days ago. Sandra had asked him to help carry her son's coffin ... that was something Reno never wanted to do again. He had gone through a lot in his life and experienced many things in his career as a Turk, but nothing came close to the pain he'd felt in his chest carrying Ryan's coffin down the aisle. Sandra had left to stay with her sister in Wutai yesterday, leaving him the spare key to her apartment. Something told him, she wouldn't be rushing back to Costa del Sol anytime soon ... he could hardly blame her though. She needed some time to come to terms with things.

The Turk hid a yawn behind his hand as he stepped through the front door of Costa del Sol's Secondary School. He was figuring out this whole teacher/cell number thing today. It had annoyed him with a full week now and he was adamant he that he was getting to the bottom of it before it drove him insane. He was going to figure out why some teacher had brought Arleen to the hospital and not Kelly. Then he was going to pay Kelly a visit, which would probably lead to an argument. Whenever that finished, he would go to the hospital to see Arleen.

Reno had contemplated calling Tseng to explain where he had been with the last week, but he'd decided to leave it. Rude had probably given some form of an explanation, if he tried to explain himself right now, he'd just confuse the situation more. He just hoped he still had a job whenever he got back to Edge.

He took his Turk role for granted sometimes ... the stack of paperwork alongside his desk only stood as testament to that fact. He spent more time slacking off in the Turks' Lounge than he spent in his own office. But he had never missed a day of work. He had stood by ShinRa when the who planet hadn't. He'd stuck by the company as it had dragged itself from the mud and he liked being a Turk. He didn't take his role in missions lightly and he knew his place withing ShinRa. That, and the wages were a nice bonus.

Reno walked to the secretary's office; three or four teenagers were sitting outside, probably waiting to be called into the Principal's office, one by one. He didn't envy them, he knew from experience with Arleen that their Principal wasn't the most lenient of men. He knocked lightly on the open door before stepping into the office.

A young woman with blonde hair, tied up in a loose bun, looked up from her computer as a knock came to the door. She took a breath to tell the student that Principal Ruwen would call them in when he was ready, but stopped short as a familiar face stepped through the door.

"Reno ... how's Arleen?"

The man leaned back against the photocopier as his eyes scanned the office; a filing cabinet stood behind the open door, files were strewn across Leanne's desk, a first-aid kit peeped out from its perch atop a shelf, small notes were pinned to a notice board alongside her desk ... his office back at ShinRa was more organised than this, though it did help that he rarely used his office.

"She's doing okay. The swelling in her brain's gone down so they took her off some meds yesterday, just waiting for her to come back around on her own."

He was lucky, he got to say that his daughter would be okay. The MRI scan had shown bruising and swelling on her brain from the crash. The doctors had put her on some drugs to keep her asleep and reduce the swelling. She had some cuts, scrapes and a broken arm too, but she'd be okay. She was lucky, Ryan and Toni hadn't been so lucky.

They said Toni had been killed when the car had collided with the truck, the girl hadn't been wearing her seatbelt and had felt the full impact of the crash. Ryan's injuries had been too much for his body to cope with; internal bleeding had taken him before the doctors could stabilise him. Reno pushed himself from the the photocopier, he didn't want to dwell on that kind of stuff. It wasn't right. He turned his attention back to Leanne.

"One of the teachers here brought Arleen to the hospital a few weeks back, d'you know who?"

Leanne nodded quickly, she scanned over an email she had typed before answering the Turk. She ignored how tired the man looked and how he had just spaced out; he had enough things on his plate without her questioning him. As for the teacher, that would be Anthony. He was the only teacher Arleen listened to. He didn't have any classes today, but he was still in the school, going through the storeroom and listing what materials they were low on.

"That would be her Engineering teacher, he's in the Engineering room now if you want to speak to him. Go down the corridor and it's the last door on your right."

"Thanks, Leanne."

Reno walked down the main corridor of the school, cringing as the bell left out a shrill ring and the place filled with teenagers, all of which were walking the opposite way of him. He ignored the odd looks he garnered from the small first years, some of which only reached his waist in height. He didn't care what anyone said, he had never been that short at their age. He nodded in acknowledgment as he passed some of the older students, recognising Cian amidst the throng of tall youths. He ignored more confused looks as he turned the corner and walked through the door of the Engineering room, kicking it shut behind him.

He didn't know why this guy had taken his daughter to the hospital. He didn't know what had happened to Arleen, for man to feel the need to bring her. He had known her old Engineering teacher to see him, but he had yet to meet this man. He and Arleen rarely discussed school, unless she was in serious trouble. He didn't tend to waste what little time he had with her talking about school and teachers.

Reno followed the sound of scraping metal towards a small door at the back of the large room. He assumed that was where the materials were kept. He took a breath to introduce himself, but stopped short as the teacher turned around to face him. The term _mouth-hitting-the-floor_ shot to his mind. Reno stared in silence for a moment, trying to remember whether Arleen had ever actually mentioned her teacher's name in conversation. He knew she hadn't though. But at least now he knew why her teacher had taken on the responsibility of bringing her to the hospital.

"Anthony Clarkson – how the hell did you get a teaching qualification?"

"Could ask you the same bout those tags, Red."

Reno smirked as he held the man's gaze, while slipping his work-tags back inside his t-shirt. That was a good comeback, it looked like he hadn't forgotten the Slums either. However, time changed things. He might have bad-mouthed the Turks throughout his younger years, but he'd been smart enough to know they'd been his only route out of the Slums.

The Turk back-tracked into the main classroom as Anthony walked by him. He felt like laughing or waking up right now. The same dirty-blond hair, the same clear blue eyes ... coincidence was one way of describing this, freak occurrence was another. Reno hoisted himself up onto one of the student workbenches as he tried to figure out this latest turn of events.

He'd guessed that Reno would eventually show up. He half hoped he would. Anthony hadn't seen him since he'd left to join the Turks. It seemed like a whole age ago now, but there was no mistaking Reno. The teacher leaned back against his desk as he watched the Turk with a bemused smirk; sitting on one of the workbenches with one knee drawn up to the edge and his chin resting on it, the Turk was a picture of confusion.

"You look confused."

"Because I am."

Reno furrowed his brow, still trying to figure out what had happened to Anthony after he'd left the Slums. They'd been friends back then, he'd saved the younger man's butt on countless occasions and had helped him out of tight spots. The Slums hadn't been a safe place to grow up without another person to watch your back. Anthony had been the one watching his back. But then he had decided to join the Turks and they'd lost touch. The last he'd heard, Anthony's parents had divorced. Anthony had stayed in the Slums with his Dad, while his Mom and Kelly had ... Reno's eyes widened as realization dawned on him, he looked back to his old friend with astonishment.

"You never told Arleen about Kelly and you?"

Anthony shook his head. Nope, he hadn't. Kelly wasn't even away he was in Costa del Sol. He had been teaching Arleen with about a year and a half and Kelly had never once shown up for a parent-teacher meeting. He'd been a fool to think she'd grown up since leaving the Slums.

"No. Kelly doesn't even know I'm working here. I haven't seen her since Mom and her moved away."

Reno sat back on the workbench, idly scratching the back of his head as he looked to the man again. Life had a funny way of playing tricks on him in the last week. He knew Anthony and Kelly had never had a normal brother-sister relationship. If it hadn't been for her being such a bitch to her younger brother in the first place, he wouldn't have met Anthony. He wouldn't have met Kelly. That was a good and bad thing though. Good in the sense he would have saved himself a lot of headaches and worn patience, but bad because he wouldn't have Arleen right now.

"Why didn't you tell Arleen that you were her uncle? You must've known who her Mom was."

He had, but it hadn't been as simple as that. If he had told Arleen, then she would have had more questions, ones that he didn't have the answers for. Kelly had the answers as to why the teenager had never met any of her extended family. However, if his sister was anything like how she'd been in the Slums, then she wasn't worth asking.

"And say what? It's easier to play by Kelly's rules, Reno. I heard that you and her had a kid together. I didn't know where she was living or how old the kid was. I got offered a job here and took it. It didn't take a genius to figure out you and Arleen are related, her surname gave away who her Mom was."

Reno nodded and sat forward on the bench. He was right. He'd wasted enough of his life in a relationship with Kelly to know that it was easier to play by her rules. But he'd also wasted enough of his life on those rules, he was done playing the way she liked.

He still didn't understand how a brother and sister could be so genuinely different. Kelly had been mouthy and a real bitch in her younger years. He figured that was why he' liked her; she'd been a challenge for him. Anthony, on the other hand, had been quieter than her and the intelligent of the two.

Reno shook his head and stood, he still hadn't figured out what he'd come here for. Though it made more sense now, knowing that Anthony had been the one to take Arleen to the hospital and now some random teacher, he still didn't know why she'd needed medical treatment to start with. The Turk pulled his phone from his pocket and glanced the screen quickly, before pocketing it again; he was making sure he dadn't missed a call from the hospital.

"Getting to the point – why did you bring Arleen to the hospital a few weeks ago?"

"How d-"

"Cell number."

That had been a stupid question, even he had to admit that much. Reno was far from stupid and leaving his cell number was almost as good as leaving his signature on Arleen's records Anthony stopped for a moment, silently weighing up his options. Arleen had made him promise not to say a word to anyone and he had agreed. But he was her uncle, she might not be away of that, but that didn't make it any less true. Didn't that somehow give him a responsibility to look after her? He had an obligation to make sure she didn't get hurt again.

Not that he needed much persuasion, Anthony had known from the day Arleen had told him that he would, at some point, end up blowing the whistle on the man or pointing Reno in the right direction. He knew exactly how his old friend would react, another person might have thought better knowing such, but Anthony wasn't about to dumb his words down or blunt the truth to help someone who had hurt his niece.

"Since I've started here, Arleen has come into school with bruises on her arms, cuts, even a split lip once or twice. No one asked her how she got them, so I asked. She said they'd been from training, so I let it slide for a while. This room can get pretty noisy when the power is on. With two CNC lathes, centre lathes, milling machines , drills and hand tools ... it gets kinda hard to keep tabs on everyone. Cian Layna came to me a few weeks ago during class, he said Arleen was in the storeroom and that he thought I should go talk to her. I shut down the power and left the rest of the class out early for lunch. When I got to the storeroom, Arleen was sitting on the bottom shelf of the material rack and she'd been crying. She took one look at me and told me she was going to kill Cian for not keeping his mouth shut."

Reno smirked despite Anthony's serious tone; that was Arleen's way of dealing with crying, she just got angry instead. She hated crying, he didn't know why, but she always had, if she cried, she got angry and frustrated with herself afterwards. He turned his attention back to his friend as he continued to explain.

"I asked her what was wrong and got a rather _colourful_ answer. I told her I knew the bruises on her arms and stuff weren't from sparring matches at the boxing club. I asked if someone had hurt her ..."

His sense of humour disappeared as he pushed himself away from the edge of the bench. Arleen was more than capable of looking after herself; she did boxing in one of Chris's gyms. She'd asked him to sign the permission form a few years ago when Kelly had first started going out with Chris. Who had hurt his daughter?

Anthony eyed the Turk before continuing. It might have been years since they'd seen each other, but he knew how Reno's mind worked. He had a pretty good idea of what he'd do once he found out who had hurt Arleen, but he wasn't going to stop him either.

"She nodded and I asked if it was a boyfriend. She said no, then tried to stand up; she staggered and cried out again, clutching her side. I asked what had happened and she lifted the side of her shirt. That's why I brought her to the hospital, Reno. Two of her ribs were broken ... Kelly's guy has been hurting her since he moved in with them. She's petrified of the man."

Anthony did little to hide his smirk as the door of the classroom swung shut with a bang. Some people would call him an instigator, but at least he didn't pick on teenage girls. Reno had a dangerous tempter, he always had. It had come in useful when they'd been kids. It looked like it had served him well in adulthood too. He was second in command of the Turks ... the same suited people he used to hurl abuse at whenever they game down to the Slums. He was one to speak, he'd bunked off school more than any other person in his year, and yet here he was now, a teacher. Time had a weird habit of coming full circle, hopefully it would do the same for that guy Kelly was with.

Again with the rain? He was sick of getting drenched at this stage; he'd almost forgotten what dry socks felt like. A whole week and this sorry excuse for a mother hadn't even called him or went to the hospital, and she was the one with custody? He was lazy at work sometimes, he slacked off, he liked to curse, he liked to get drunk at the weekends, he enjoyed annoying the living daylights out of some people, he knew he tested Tseng's patience to its limits at times, but he would never let anyone lay a finger on his daughter if he could help it.

Reno opened the frong door and stepped through, not bothering to ring the door bell or knock. He took the stairs two at a time, then walked through the first door on his left. He looked around quickly and spotted a gear-bag peeking out of the wardrobe's door, he grabbed it and narrowly avoided landing on his butt as a stray sneaker tried to trip him up. This may not have been one of this brightest ideas, but what other option did he have? He wasn't about to leave Arleen come back here.

He had never seen eye to eye with Chris, but they had always been civil towards each other. He was with Kelly ... Reno reckoned the man needed his head checked, but that was his decision. He wanted to believe that Anthony had been wrong, but he had never lied to him in the past, so why start now.

He didn't want to believe that he had over-looked things. Sure, he'd asked Arleen about the bruises and stuff, but she'd just shrugged and said training. He'd believed her. Reno was angry, he wanted to kill Chris then and there, but he knew it would probably come back to bit him in the butt. He was also angry with himself; a senior Turk and he couldn't even notice when his own daughter had lied to him ... he hadn't even noticed that someone had been hurting her all along.

He grabbed the sneaker and tossed into the bag along with its counter-part as he heard footsteps running up the stairs. He didn't have the patience to put up with Kelly right now. It was her house, yes, but Arleen was his daughter too. Reno smirked and rolled his eyes; 3 ... 2 ...

"What the _**hell**_ d'you think you're doing?"

Reno looked up quickly as he tossed more of Arleen's clothes into the bag; bleached tresses, tied up in a ponytail, a model-worthy physique, her make-up in place, of course, along with what he assumed were designer jeans. Kelly McKenzie was as predictable as they came. She cared more about what was staring back at her from the mirror each morning, than how her own daughter was getting on at school. She wrecked his head, he'd cared about her once, but those feelings were dead and buried a long time ago.

"Go away, Kelly. I am not in a good mood."

Kelly looked from her ex to the bag he was filling with clothes; he had some cheek to just walk through her front door like that, not that she would have left him in if he'd knocked or anything. Despite how angry she was at his intrusion, he confusion was quickly taking the lead as he bent down to grab a framed photo from the bedside table, along with several notebooks.

"Reno – what're you playing at?"

He was trying very hard not to lose his temper before he left the house. He was getting his daughter's clothes and some of her belongings now, so that she wouldn't have to come back here before going to Edge with him. That way he wouldn't have to listen to Kelly any longer than was necessary. He was planning ahead and the plan had nothing to do with her of that thing she called her fiancé.

"I'm taking Arleen to Edge."

Kelly shook her head, no he wasn't. She had custody of Arleen. She always had; he was allowed one visit per month. That way, she still got to be in control, he wasn't allowed to take that piece of control away from her. He didn't know the first thing about living with a hormonal teenager. She regretted him having a part in Arleen's life as it was, she regretted her past relationship with the assassin. She decided who got to stay in control, not him.

"You don't have custody, I d-"

Reno spun as she successfully pushed his last button. Anger flared in his eyes as he rounded on the woman and pushed her against the bedroom wall. She was not going to stop him. She hadn't called him to say Arleen was in the hospital. She hadn't shown up once to see Arleen. She had ignored calls from the hospital. She hadn't shown her fact at Toni and Ryan's funerals. She hadn't once phoned the hospital or him to ask about Arleen and she was going to stand there and defend herself in spite of everything?

"Stop while you still can Kells. Custody ... I had to find out about the crash from a news report. I've been here since the night of the crash, where have you been, huh? Get your fucking hands off me!"

The Turk spun as arms pulled him away from Kelly. He looked up and met the acidic green eyes of her fiancé, Chris. He should have walked away, he knew that was the right thing to do. But Anthony's words were still ringing in his ears, Arleen was petrified of this guy. He'd broken her ribs and beaten her up. He'd threatened her and frightened her. Reno smirked and dropped the bag he'd been packing. The correct decision would be to leave it go and deal with it later, but he had never been known for picking the easy option. Reno stepped forward quickly and landed a punch square on the man's jaw.

He grimaced as he shook out his fist, pain flaring along his knuckles. He bent down and picked up the bag he had packed. Reno side-stepped a shaken-looking Kelly as he shot her fiancé a stony glare. He walked out the door and on several more steps before turning on his heel and facing the two of them once more.

"I know you knew what he was doing, Kelly. Touch my daughter again and I swear, I'll make you pay, Chris."

Kelly took a shaky breath and stood out from where she'd remained against the wall. He wasn't right in the head. He was dangerous. He had forced his way into her home, threatened her and assaulted Chris. He'd had a tough childhood, big deal. ShinRa had turned him into something much worse than what he'd been in the Slums. He was responsible for the deaths of thousands; he'd been the one behind the Sector 7 collapse ... and yet he was allowed to walk free. He should have been thrown in jail and left there to rot.

"Get out or I'll call the police!"

Reno laughed sarcastically as he walked down the stairs. This was generally how his and Kelly's conversations went. He didn't usually end up hitting her fiancé, but the arguing and shouting were par for the course when they spoke. The both of them had always enjoyed trying to break the other. That was the only reason Kelly had custody of Arleen, because she knew it bugged him. Right now, he had to leave before he did something stupid. She was as bad as the man she was marrying.

"Call them, tell them to take that bastard with them while you're at it!"

* * *

_**A/N: A little different from the original, but I feel that it fits better with Reno's character. Thank-you all so much for the reviews so far, it really means a lot :)**_

_**Last revision: 28/04/11**_


	5. Promise

_**A/N: Here's chapter 5 :)**_

* * *

Reno groaned as he opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling of Sandra's apartment. He'd been trying to fall back aslep with the last half an hour, but his thoughts and confusion had kept him wide awake. He rubbed his neck and sat up slowly; Sandra's couch was definitely not the most comfortable of beds, but it was still a bed and he greatly appreciated it. Though, it did feel weird being here on his own. He'd slept here before, he usually bunked here when he came to visit Arleen, but there had always been others around; Ryan, Toni and Arleen had used the apartment as their hangout spot. Sandra had even given both girls a key for the apartment. Reno shook his head and stood, not wanting to dwell on Ryan and Toni too much.

He'd already spent half an hour thinking over stuff, he was giving himself a migraine at this stage. Three days had passed since he'd gone to Kelly's house. His hand still hurt a bit, but at least the bruise across his knuckles had faded a little. He'd called Anthony afterwards and asked him if he could deal with transferring Arleen's school files from Costa del Sol to Edge. That was one thing he wouldn't have to deal with.

Reno wiped sleep from his eyes as he hit down the switch on the kettle. One thing out of the way ... only another thousand to deal with. He could ask Elena about where to get a school uniform and books. He needed to speak to the President about having Arleen's medical files sent to the ShinRa medical wing. All the other teenagers were under the medical wing instead of the city's general hospital ... a perk of the job and connections to ShinRa. He had a spare bedroom in his apartment, so that was a room sorted. He had to get a key copied for Arleen. Reno groaned again and rubbed his forehead, he really needed to make a list or something.

The Turk glanced up at the empty apartment as a beep interrupted the silence. A quick feel of his pockets told him he'd managed to drop his phone somewhere. Reno walked back over to the couch, leaving his mug of coffee on the table, and slipped his hand down the back of the sofa; two dead batteries, a battery-less remote control and some gil, but no phone. He stood back up and furrowed his brows, placing what he'd found on the coffee table before dropping to his knees and looking under the sofa.

Reno pulled his phone from beneath the sofa and sat back on the floor with a satisfied smile on his face. He flipped his phone open, expecting the beeping to be due to an almost empty battery.

He'd neglected to grab his charger before leaving Edge, so far the phone had lasted about ten days without being charged, he hadn't been aware of how long the battery could last before now. Reno frowned as his eyes locked onto the small phone symbol in the upper left corner of the screen; he'd missed a call. He clicked into the call log and groaned once more; trust him to sleep through a call from the hospital. Reno stood and pressed the redial button, searching for his t-shirt as he waited for the dial tone. After a few seconds of silence, he pulled the phone away from his ear and stared at its black screen ... ten whole days and it picked _**now**_ to die?

* * *

Reno pushed through the double doors of the ward and stopped as he almost walked into a nurse pushing an elderly patience in a wheelchair; he stood back and held the door open for the pair. He shook his head with the hint ofa smirk as he heard the elderly woman asking the young nurse if he was her nephew. He'd been here every day for ten days, it hadn't taken long to get used to what went on in the hospital.

The elderly woman had asked the same thing about him at least twice a day, he was willing to bet that she was some relation to Mr. And Mrs. Seeley in Edge; the duo had a fixation with trying to claim Denzel as their long-lost grandnephew. May this woman was their long-lost sister or something?

Reno shook his head and put the amusing possibility to the back of his mind as he headed for the nurses' station. The same young nurse who had explained about Anthony's number stood behind it, Natalee. There were a few other nurses there, but he knew Natalee better at this stage. The young woman had been here any time he'd been here since the crash; she'd been the one to offer him tea or coffee the night of the crash. He'd refused to leave Arleen's side, despite being told she was stable. He'd seen Adam, Becca and Sandra lose their kids, he hadn't wanted to leave his here alone. Natalee had offered him a blanket, then offered to call him if anything changed when he'd decided to should go make sure Sandra was okay.

"Hey, Natalee. I slept through a call from the hospital and now my phone's dead. Is Arleen okay?"

The young woman looked up quickly, confusion clouded her dark brown eyes for a moment before she realised who was speaking to her; pulling a double shift had seemed like a good idea last night, but she was paying for it now. She'd called Reno earlier, but figured the man had been getting some deserved sleep. He'd spent hours here every morning and evening since the crash, he'd deserved to sleep in.

Natalee smiled and nodded her head, almost unable to contain her delight. It wasn't often that there was a happy ending to a lot that went on here. And given the tragedy that had already befallen the other parents of the teenagers in the crash, it was nice that at least one of them would get some good news.

"Arleen is fine, Reno. She woke up about two hours ago, that's why I called you. Her doctor sent her for another MRI to ensure all the swelling was gone and checked her over. She has to has to get the cast off her arm in six weeks, but she can go home today."

Reno blinked, expecting someone to sneak up behind him and tell him Natalee was joking. He'd expected the worst when he'd missed the call, but she was fine. Arleen was allowed to go home – his home, though. The Turk broke into a grin as he leaned his head down on the counter of the nurses' station, not caring for the odd looks he was drawing. This was the best he'd felt since turning on the news back in Edge. The lead weight in his stomach had lifted at last. He turned his head sideways and winked at the smiling Natalee.

"I'd kiss you right now, only I think your boss would yell at me."

Natalee laughed as she turned away, trying to hide the blush that lit up her cheeks. She'd heard some of the older nurses gossiping about Reno yesterday, speaking about hwo he was pretty high up in ShinRa's Turk department and how they hadn't known he'd had a daughter. One of them had even speculated that he'd only shown up because of the crash and hadn't cared before hand. Natalee doubted that. From what she'd seen since the night of the crash, the man genuinely cared for his daughter. No other parent or guardian had visited the girl over the course of ten days, only Reno and some teenagers from her school.

"Hey, can you send Arleen's medical files onto the ShinRa Company's medical wing?

* * *

The doctor had told her she could go home as soon as her Dad arrived. Why did they always assume he was her Dad? He wasn't, he was her Mom's fiancé, that didn't make him her Dad. What did she say to her Mom about all this? Arleen doubted she would be comforting or worried. The last time they'd spoken, it had been an argument and if they spoke today, it would probably be another argument. She didn't want to deal with that today.

Arleen stared at the ceiling of her room as she tried to piece together what had happened. The doctor had told her she'd been in a crash, but she didn't remember much. She remembered Anthony trying to catch her out at the lockers. She remembered walking to the car with Toni and Ryan ... anything after that was hazy. Were Toni and Ryan okay? She was pretty sore; the doctor told her she'd been unconscious since the crash, what about her friends though?

The seventeen-year-old was shaken from her worried thoughts as the door opened once more, she sighed and looked to it, bracing herself for her mother's words, maybe she should just stay quiet and agree? It would avoid an argument. Arleen's eyes shot wide as they locked onto who had walked into her room.

"Dad!"

Reno smiled and nodded his head as he kicked the door shut behind him and walked the few feet to his daughter's bed. She looked tired; he/could pick up on the outline of bruises that had begun to heal, a small bandage covered the back of her right hand, another further up her arm on the inside of her elbow, covering where her drips had been taken out. A white cast covered her left forearm, knowing her and the teenagers he was going to introduce her to in Edge, it wouldn't remain white for long; names and doodles would cover every inch of it.

Reno sat down on the edge of her bed; he put her phone, eyebrow stud and lip ring on the bed alongside her, before meeting her confused eyes and explaining. It was odd, the crash had been bad, yet her phone had survived safe in her pocket. Then again, his phone had survived a lot of bounces, spills and AWOL moments in its lifetime.

"The doctors took them away when you came in, one of the nurses just gave them back to me ... you gave me one hell of a scare, Arly."

Arleen glanced down at the bed, suddenly feeling guilty. She was delighted he was here, he didn't yell at her or give out to her. But if he was here, did that mean her Mom had call him and gave him an earful of abuse. He lived and worked in Edge, she had never been there, but she knew it was a long drive. What about his work and his boss? She fidgeted around with her eyebrow stud and lip ring for a moment before looking back up to her Dad. Toni and Ryan had bought them for her two years ago as a birthday present ... where were they? Had they been put in a different ward? She knew they generally put girls and boys in different wards, but then how come Toni wasn't on the same ward as her? Had they been discharged already? Her doctor had said she'd been unconscious since the crash, maybe they'd been left home already?

"Dad, did Toni and Ryan get discharged already?"

And there was that lead weight back in his stomach again. Reno sighed deeply and took his daughter's phone from her before she could open it and try to text her friends. He'd known he'd have to break the news to her in the end, but Turk training didn't fill you in on stuff like this and he was still a bit behind on the Daddy-handbook. He set the phone back down on the bed and tried to organise his thoughts. He'd been thinking about this with a few days, but whatever he'd managed to work out in his head, was now gone straight out the window.

Speeches weren't his thing. Either were elegantly worded explanations. Rude was better when it came to explaining things, despite his usual silent demeanor, that was why he'd asked him to deal with the rest back in Edge. Even Anthony would be better in this situation than him, but Kelly would have a field-day if she knew he was having trouble dealing with a teenager already. He was her Dad, it was his responsibility to tell her. He met Arleen's mirroring eyes; she had his eyes and, unfortunately, his mentality at times. She needed to hear the truth or she would ignore it.

"It was an accident, Arleen. No one was at fault. Not Ryan and not the truck driver. The roads were treacherous with the rain ... the truck skidded through a stop sign and out onto the road, in front of Ryan's car. The driver of the truck died at the scene."

He closed his eyes as he heard his daughter gasp. He opened them again and continued to explain in the same monotone voice; there was worse for her to hear yet.

"Toni hadn't been wearing her seatbelt; she died instantly. The car hit the truck at an angle, the driver's side took the brunt of the impact; Ryan suffered severe head injuries and internal bleeding. The doctors here worked on him for hours, Arly, but they couldn't save him..."

Arleen blinked and stared at her father, waiting for him to crack a smirk, or for Toni and Ryan to come in the door, telling her she should see the look on her face. But he wasn't smirking and the door was staying shut. Arleen shook her head as hot tears pricked the side of her eyes, a lump choking what words she had formulated to argue with. How could they be gone? They'd been going home after school, they hadn't done anything wrong ... how could someone take her friends away?

Reno pulled his daughter to his chest as tears streamed down her cheeks, he tucked her head beneath his chin and wrapped his arms around her; he swayed gently as her shoulders shook. He didn't have anything to say, none of it would help anyway. Toni and Ryan had been her best friends since primary school, since she'd been four. The three of them had always been together. He sat there in silence, holding his daughter as she cried into his chest.

Arleen sniffed and wiped her eyes with the back of her right hand, before entwining her fingers in the chain of her Dad's work-tags. She didn't like crying, she hated it, but Toni and Ryan were gone ... she flinched as a falsh of a conversation caught her off guard; she'd promised to tell her Dad about Chris ... they'd talked about that in the car, before the crash. She remembered Toni searching for the gil, that was why she hadn't been wearing her seatbelt ... Toni had died because of five measly gil, five gil that Ryan had been hiding in his pocket.

Arleen glanced back to the tags; name, date of birth, employee number and the ShinRa logo engraved on the back of each tag. They were for her Dad's work, being a Turk was dangerous. He knew that and she knew that, but that was the territory and nature of the job. No one had told her that being a teenager in school came with the same dangers though. No one had warned her about the possibility of death and loss when at school ... _Ryan Parks, 18, Costa del Sol Secondary School, deceased. Toni Gallow, 17, Costa del Sol Secondary School, deceased._

"I'm sorry."

Reno blinked, what was she sorry for? She hadn't done a thing wrong. She'd got caught in a freak accident and had got hurt. None of it was anyone's fault though. She certainly had no reason to apologise. The Turk turned more to face his daughter as he spoke quietly.

"For what? You didn't do anything wron-"

"But you're here and Mom probably shouted at you as usual, and it's all stupid!"

Arleen groaned and scratched the back of her head as a flash of what her, Toni and Ryan had been joking about shot across her mind. It was all stupid. They'd been going home after a day of school, which was on a Saturday, which was stupid to start with. They'd been going to watch a scary movie at Ryan's, Toni was freaking out about it already ... then everything was black again. Why couldn't she remember it properly?

Reno watched his daughter for a moment. He knew she was confused and upset, but she didn't go cry like a normal teenager, she usually ended up getting frustrated with the situation. She had always hated crying. He knew crying was a last resort for her. Unfortunately, he knew she'd cry a lot more before the day was out, she had to grieve properly before she could move on, he knew that from experience.

"C'mere ... none of this is your fault Arleen. I'm your Dad, of course I'm here. And as for that shouting thing with your Mom, it happened, but I kinda started it this time. Me and her will never get on, you know that ... it's what makes things entertaining."

Arleen smiled despite herself as she nestled into her Dad's arms, trust him to make a joke out of something she knew bugged him. This was why she liked it so much when he was around; no one could hurt her when he was here. He made her feel safe. Arleen shifted so that her back leaned into her father's chest; she pulled his arms over her shoulders and sat in silence for a few minutes. She smiled and wiped away another tear as he tested his chin on top of her head. She wanted to stay like this, stay here with his arms around her so that no one and nothing could harm her again. Arleen spoke quietly as she noticed a bruise stretching across the top of her father's knuckles.

He'd probably gotten it at work or on a mission. She knew being in the Turks meant going on difficult missions, even today. About seven or eight months ago, he'd had his arm in a sling when he'd visited; a rookie had messed up during a mission, he'd gotten in the way and thrown everyone else off their plan, her Dad had received a bullet to the should for the rookie's mess up.

"Work?"

Reno glanced down at his hand; work would be an easy explanation, ut he needed to ask her about this stuff anyhow. He wanted to know why she'd never told him about Chris. Had she thought he couldn't believe her? Or maybe that he wouldn't have done anything. He hoped she hadn't thought either of those; Kelly was the parent who didn't do anything, not him.

"Not exactly ... Chris."

He felt her tense up immediately. Anthony had been correct, she was genuinely afraid of the man. He only wished he'd hit him harder the other day. The man had his warning now though, if he crossed the line again, then he could go and make sure he never even looked sideways at Arleen again. Reno tightened his arms around daughter as he continued.

"Anthony told me, he's another thing I have to explain actually, but he told me about everything. I went to your Mom's house. She said something and I got pissed off; I pushed her against the wall, Chris got involved so I hit him ... why didn't you tell me?"

Chris had told her not to. He had threatened her not to. He'd told her that he'd hurt her Dad, then punish her worse than he'd ever done before. She could handle herself in a fight, but she wasn't clueless; Chris was much larger and stronger than her, and intimidating. It wasn't that she hadn't contemplated telling him before, Arleen hadn't wanted to ruin what little time her and her dad had together with mentioning Chris.

"He ... he told me he'd hurt me. Please don't think I didn't trust you Dad, I trust you more than anyone ... I just didn't want him to hurt me."

Now he really wished he'd hit the man harder. Reno looked down at his daughter; clear blue eyes like his, vivid red hair, a penchant for speaking before thinking ... she was his daughter. Kelly didn't care. She only wanted to make things hard for him. He'd already missed out on so much of Arleen's life thanks to Kelly and her games, but he was stepping in now, when it mattered.

"I went to your Mom's to get some of your clothes and stuff. I've had your medical files sent to the ShinRa medical wing and Anthony's dealing with the school transfer paperwork ... I won't let him hurt you again, Arly, I promise."

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for reading ;)**

**Last Revision: 28/04/11**


	6. Confusion

_**A/N: Here's the next chapter :)**_

* * *

The building was larger than she'd imagined it. Arleen wiped sleep from her eyes as she looked up at the intimidating ShinRa building, she had fallen asleep on the way to Edge, that had probably been a good thing; her stomach had twisted and knotted itself while she'd sat in passenger seat of her Dad's car. She hadn't expected to be so nervous about being in a car ... she'd ended up asking her Dad to pull over so she could climb into the back of the car, thankfully he hadn't asked any questions.

She'd seen the ShinRa building on newspapers and on television before, but she had never seen the building with her own eyes, up until now. It was taller than she'd expected, her Dad had mentioned it being modeled after the old ShinRa building, that had existed in Midgar.

"Yo, close your mouth ... c'mon, time to go confuse some people."

Arleen stuck her tongue out before closing her mouth and following her father. This place was all new to her, she had no idea of how to find her way around the city. She didn't know anybody here apart from her Dad and godfather; she didn't know anyone in the school here, she didn't even know where her Dad lived. Edge was a complete blank map to her.

Reno yawned as he shouldered the bag with Arleen's clothes in it; he'd leaves his car here, they could walk to 7th Heaven later. He should have known that she'd be nervous in cars after the crash, but walking from Costa del Sol had been a definite no in his books. He was all for exercise, but the stairs in the ShinRa building were plenty of exercise for anyone. Reno smiled and put his free arm around his daughter's shoulder as he noticed the confusion in her eyes.

He knew she felt lost; he'd just taken her away from where she had always lived and landed her in the middle of a new city where she knew next to no one. He had watched her staring out the window of his car on the way back, he'd noticed the tears she'd tried to hide. This full-time Dad stuff was going to be a lot harder than he'd thought, but if it meant she was safe, then he'd figure it out. Reno spoke as they stepped through the front doors of the building, answering the seventeen-year-old's questions before she could voice them.

"We're here because I need to figure out if I still have a job. Then I need to check in with everyone at 7th Heaven before they send out a search-party. A quick run-down of the people that'll be there: Ross; he has spikey blond hair, acts like an idiot but he's a lot more intelligent than he lets on. Aiveen; she's Ross's girlfriend, her Mom's in-line for the throne of Wutai, you can't miss her, she's five foot nothing and acts like someone who's been drinking coffee all day ... her and her Mom."

Arleen stiffled a laugh as she tried to remember the quick descriptions, she liked his description of Aiveen and her Mom, they sounded like fun. She wondered who wrote out the mission reports for her Dad and Rude's missions ... she seriously hoped her Dad didn't use descriptions of targets like that in his reports.

"Robbie is another blond and likes to fit a couple of swears into each sentence. Jared's Tseng and Elena's kid, brown eyes and light brown hair, he's quiet enough. Declan's the President's son, blue eyes and sandy-coloured hair, he's usually in trouble along with Ross and Robbie. He's going out with Ross's younger sister, Mai. Then there's Reeve's kid, Matt, he's second in command of the WRO and pretty good at boxing, brown hair and -"

"Green eyes ... I think I kinda know him"

Reno stopped, confusion immediately catching him off-guard; how did she know Matt? She hadn't been to Edge before and anything to do with the WRO had Reeve's picture and name on it, he was its commander. Matt helped out behind the scenes and took charge if his Dad was busy with other business, but that rarely happened; Shalua generally tried to deal with things so that Matt wasn't dragged out of school.

"How?"

Arleen smiled as she noticed the confused tone of her father's voice; She kinda knew Matt, but not really. She had never actually met the guy, just knew what he looked like and what weight category he fought in.

"He and some others fought in a tournament Chris's gym held a few months ago. He fought against Reagan."

That made sense; Matt fought under the boxing club in Edge. Denzel had been there for a while too, then he'd started going out with Rayna and fallen off the bandwagon. Reno looked up as they approached the reception desk; a young woman with straightened black hair and grey eyes smiled as her eyes landed on him. If Ciara was working, then the shifts had just changed over for the night shift. He hoped Tseng and the President hadn't decided to leave early, for once.

"Hey Ciara, are Tseng and the President still here?"

"They're in Tseng's office. Where've you been all week? It's been way too quiet around here without you."

Reno grinned, looking from Arleen to Ciara. He shouldn't take enjoyment in the confusion he would cause other people, but he couldn't help it. He'd spent over a week dealing with worry, stress and sadness; he was entitled to enjoy himself on this one; everyone here was used to him slacking off, mouthing off and coming into work hung-over, they were accustomed to hearing him threatening to ring the younger recruits' necks, but not one of them suspected he had family outside of ShinRa.

"In Costa del Sol; meet my daughter, Arleen."

Arleen waved quickly before following her Dad up one of the staircases, towards one of the elevators. She felt somewhat responsible for the complete shock on the receptionist's face. Her Dad's quick and vague explanation hadn't been the most subtle of approaches, but why were all the people passing them giving her weird looks?

"Why's everyone looking so confused?"

Reno shrugged and stepped into the elevator, hitting one of the buttons before leaning back against the mirrored wall, hiding another yawn behind his hand; he really needed a full night of sleep. They were all confused because none of them, apart from Rude, knew he had a kid. He wasn't ashamed to tell them or anything, definitely not; his daughter was intelligent had medals in boxing, he was extremely proud of her.

However, his personal life was none of their business. The ShinRa of Midgar had used children and families as weaknesses. He had uses the children of his targets as bait and they had often become collateral damage. He knew this ShinRa was different from the one he'd joined, but some memories remained engraved in his mind ... he hadn't wanted to take the risk of Arleen getting hurt because of his job.

"Rude's the only person who knows I have a daughter ... it was none of their business up until now. You're gonna get a lot more weird looks, Arly, just smile and enjoy it. I know, I will."

That was why he and her Mom argued so much; he loved to purposely annoy people. She knew she shouldn't find it funny, but Arleen couldn't help but laugh at how he enjoyed confusing people and pushing their buttons; he knew when to quit, her Mom didn't, she liked to add salt to existing wounds.

"If you thought Ciara's face was funny, this'll be priceless ..."

Arleen looked up quickly as her father whispered in her ear; another Turk was walking towards them, he had short red hair, a little darker than her dad's, he looked to be a few years younger than him too, whereas most of the other Turks they'd passed so far looked older.

"Hey Red, where've you been hiding?"

Reno shrugged and side-stepped the other man's attempt to trip him; he would eventually end up killing Rod some day. Not today though, he wanted to get all of the confusion out of the way, then go home and sleep for the rest of the week and weekend. He could always kill Rod on Monday. Reno kicked his leg out far enough to catch the younger Turk's ankle and send him sprawling on the ground, before answering.

"In Costa del Sol."

Rod rubbed the back of his head and leaned up on his elbows, he'd eventually catch Reno out. Now he wanted to know what the guy had been doing hiding out in Costa del Sol for the past week, it hadn't been a mission, Rude would have been gone too.

"Lucky for some, huh? We bust our asses here and you're off tanning yourself."

"Umm ... it's actually raining a lot in Costa del Sol right now."

Arleen smiled as she stepped over the Turk; her balance faltered as pain shot up the side of her ribs, but a hand on her shoulder stopped her from following Rod down to the floor. She nodded and smiled again as her Dad shot her a worried look.

Reno glanced to the clock on the wall, it was getting late and as much as he enjoyed hurting Rod, he still had to speak to Tseng and the President, then the crowd at 7th Heaven. He knew Arleen was tired, but he wanted her to meet Aiveen and Mai; making new friends was the last thing she wanted to do right now, not when two had just been taking away, he knew that. But, she was in a new city and a new school, knowing some people would make it easier. Reno sighed as he tore his eyes away from Arleen, still worried that she might fall over; he decided to put Rod out of his misery.

"Arleen, meet Rod. He's a brilliant mechanic, but lacks common sense. Rod, meet Arleen. She's my daughter."

"Fuck off."

He hadn't been exaggerating, Ciara's face had been funny, but it paled in comparison to Rod's. The Turk sat up on the floor, looking from her to her Dad, his eyes wide and mouth hanging open. Arleen smiled and waved as she followed her Dad through another door, leaving Rod in the middle of the corridor. She passively wondered why none of the other Turks stopped to asky why he was sitting there.

He had been right. Ciara's face had been funny, but Rod's reaction was priceless. The Turk sat up on the floor, looking from her to her Dad, his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open. Arleen smiled and waved again as she followed her Dad through another door, leaving Rod still sitting in the middle of the corridor. She passively wondered why none of the other Turks stopped to wonder why he was sitting there.

Arleen glanced around the new room they'd entered; it was large, with several desks set up in lines. Each one was equipped with a flat screen monitor, printer and other office supplies. She gathered that this was the main work area for the Turks. A large screen took up a vast expanse of the wall at the wall opposite the door; a smaller monitor and keyboards were set out in front of it. There were several other doors leading to separate offices at the side of the room with only one on the opposite side; glass panes separated it from the numerous other desk. She noticed two people inside the glass-walled office, she hadn't met either of them in real-life before, but she'd seen enough pictures on the television to know that one was the commander of the Turks, while the second was ShinRa's President.

Reno dropped Arleen's bag by the side of the closest desk; this was where the fun started. He wasn't the best guy to have on a payroll, he would never win employee of the month and he definitely tended to talk before he thought. He did a lot of things that others wouldn't get away with. But he enjoyed being a Turk; he always got his missions done and he'd stuck with ShinRa through thick and thin. But upping and leaving for over a week, without any notice or reasonable excuse, was more than enough grounds for dismissal.

If he was fired, then he understood why. But he genuinely needed his job now. Up until now, he had just enjoyed missions and stayed with the company because of his loyalty to the Turks, but he now needed his job and its wages; Kelly wasn't about to cough up gil for Arleen's hospital stay. He had a teenager to put through school, get books and clothes for, not to mention food and other amenities. The Turk sighed as he walked backwards, towards the glass-paneled office, as he spoke to his daughter.

"Wait here, I'll try to keep it short, kay?"

Arleen nodded and hoisted herself up onto the edge of the nearest desk; she kicked her legs back and forth, as she glanced around the large room. ShinRa really was a major company. She'd heard about, but hearing things and actually walking through the building was a different thing. They'd only walked through ShinRa quickly, but already she had seen countless Turks, numerous interns running errands, office personnel passing from door to door and now this large office.

He'd been in trouble before, so why was he dreading this so much? Was it because he actually cared about losing his job this time? Reno rolled his eyes at his own stupidity; maybe going to 7th Heaven before Costa del Sol would have been a good idea after all. But he couldn't change that now. His best bet was to nod his head and agree with whatever Tseng and the President had to say.

* * *

Rufus glanced up from the profile he and Tseng had been discussing, as the door of the office opened. He expected one of the secretaries with another phone call or message, but he hadn't expected the face that had walked in. The President stopped short as his eyes locked onto a tired looking Reno; dark circles shadowed his eyes, stress had etched its way into his features.

He had seen the Turk hung-over and injured before, but even at his worse he had retained his usual demeanor. Rufus glanced passed the unusually quiet Reno as he noticed a girl sitting on one of the desks outside. So, she was Reno's big secret? She was the reason why he fell off the grid ever month, since meteor.

"How is she?"

Reno took a breath defend himself, then quickly shut his mouth again and stared dumbly at his superior; where was the ear-bashing, or the lecture? He hesitated for a moment before stumbling over an answer. He wasn't sure how to take the President's genuine concern, but he wasn't stupid enough to remind the man of how he'd ignored his job with over a week.

"uh ... she's doing okay. She woke up this morning. I asked them to send her medical files onto the ShinRa medical wing."

Reno stopped and raised an eyebrow, expecting to be told that he should have cleared permission first. However, the President simply nodded and leaned back against Tseng's desk. Reno looked from one to the other, still expecting for one of them to reprimand him; he was second in command of the Turks and he'd split without any notice.

Tseng slowly closed the file he'd been leafing through; the recruits could wait until tomorrow. It was late as matters stood, and some things were more important than deciding which recruits stayed and which were sent back to the academy. He watched the teenager for a few moments before turning his attention to Reno.

"How bad was the crash?"

Reno laughed, the darker side of his sense of humour coming to the surface; define bad. The whole thing had been one big disaster after another; Kelly was a bad mother, Sandra had taken Ryan's death badly, he'd decided that Chris was bad. He'd spent ten days in Costa del Sol, getting soaked to the bone ... it had all been bad. Reno groaned and stopped his train of thought, he sounded like Arleen and her rant about stuff begin stupid.

"Bad. Her two friends were kill, so was the truck driver."

Tseng glanced to Arleen as he picked up on the underlying tone of the Turk's voice; he sounded stressed. Rude had mentioned that Reno and the girl's mother had a long-standing custody agreement, but that didn't explain why the girl was now sitting on a desk outside his looked back to the wiry Turk as a niggling suspicion took hold.

"What happened?"

Reno snapped his eyes up to meet Tseng's; his tone of voice said enough, he wanted to know why Arleen was with him. He didn't always pay Tseng the respect he deserved, he didn't always acknowledge the man's skills, but Tseng knew his Turks and was their leader for a reason. But, did he tell them about Chris, or keep it personal? Arleen wouldn't want him to mention it, but he needed advice on this, he wasn't used to being fully responsible for a kid, they were.

"I had to take her away from Costa del Sol. Kelly's fiancé has been hurting her. I only found out a few days ago."

Reno trailed off as he glanced back over his shoulder to Arleen. How could he have been stupid enough to let that guy hurt her? He was supposed to be a highly-trained senior Turk, and he'd just let it happen. All the signs had been there, he just hadn't been paying attention. Cloud and Vincent would have noticed if it had been Mai or Aiveen, he had no doubt about that. Did that make him a bad father? Reno groaned and ran his hand through his hair; he wasn't used to worrying so much about things.

* * *

"Don't you have school tomorrow?"

"Don't you have a girlfriend to go play with?"

"Don't you have a girlfriend to go pla-"

"Hey, shut up! Why don't you just ask Vincent to kill me?"

Denzel held his hands up in submission as Ross shot him a cold glare, technically the blond had started the whol girlfriend thing, not him. The group of teenagers had bailed into the living room to watch a DVD, it was a bit late to start watching it if they had school in the morning, but Reno had text Rude about an hour ago, letting him know that he was back in Edge. It looked like everyone was more concerned about questioning the Turk than getting a full night of sleep.

"Hey, gimme back my phone ..."

"Don't look at me, I didn't take it."

He started at his young brother for a minute; he didn't have his phone. The brunette furrowed his brow as his brother continued to glare at him. He honestly didn't have his phone, he only had his own, which was currently out of credit. Denzel glanced around the bar for a possible culprit before his eyes locked onto the usual offender at the same moment Ross's eyes did.

"Cait Sith."

Denzel grinned as he watched his brother take off after the cat; he had never once managed to catch Reeve's creation. Cait Sith had made a habit out of stealing phones, and could move pretty fast when he wanted to. Yuffie was usually the best at catching the little thief, Cid reckoned it took a kleptomaniac to catch a kleltomaniac. If Yuffie wasn't around, the next best option was Matt; he had a love-hate relationship with his father's little pet.

"I swear to God, I'm gonna get a dog and I'm gonna train it to kill you! Red is way too nice to you – you thieving little fucker!"

Ross skidded to a halt as the door of the bar swung inwards. He'd run into it before while chasing Cait Sith; he wouldn't train the dog to kill it, he'd train the dog to bring Cait Sith back alive so he could kill it. Ross growled as the miniture kleto turned and stuck his tongue out, pointing to the phone he held in his hand, before making a dash for the open door.

"Catch him!"

Reno bent down and grabbed the red cape of the fleeing Cait Sith; he held the door open with his other hand until Arleen had stepped through, then allowed it to swing shut. He smirked as the small creature squirmed and kicked out at him. The Turk shook the cat roughly, then stuck his own tongue out as he plucked Ross's phone from its gloved hand; Cait Sith had stolen his phone on countless occasions and this was the first time he'd been given a chance for revenge.

"Ahh! Put me down, you're not fun!"

"This is what you get for stealing my cell, Cait."

Arleen blinked slowly, oblivious to the people watching them. Her Dad was speaking to a cat ... and the cat was speaking to him. She knew there were monsters and stuff around, she'd heard tales of them living outside the city, but not talking cats running around bars. No one seemed to find it unusual either, maybe Edge was a stranger place than she'd initially thought?

"Dad ... you're talking to a cat."

"I'm not just any old cat, lassie!"

Arleen blinked again and moved further behind her father as the small cat shook its fist at her.

Reno smirked as his daughter peeked out from behind his shoulder at the raging Cait Sith; she was in for one hell of a shock when she met Red XIII. At least Red wouldn't steal her phone or threaten her though.

"Meet Cait Sith. He will steal your phone, and he will use it against you. Don't bother wasting your time chasing him either, just get Yuffie or Matt ... mind for a sec, Arly."

Reno's smirk only grew as his twisted sense of humour got the better of him. He dropped Arleen's bag behind the door; Cait Sith had stolen his phone on countless occasions, technically he was more than entitled to do this ... he pushed the door open with his free hand, holding the little robot out with other, carefully taking aim with his foot. The cat immediately stopped squirming and narrowed its beady eyes.

"You wouldn't _**dare**_."

"Wanna bet?"

The Turk cocked his head to the side, waiting for a pedestrian to finish walking past where he estimated the cat would land; he'd get hell to pay for later, but he wasn't too concerned about that right now. Reno let go of the trouble maker's cap and swung his foot out, sending Cait Sith hurtling across the road and into one of the alleys.

"Reno!"

He cringed and spun on his heel as Reeve's voice broke the silence of the bar. It seemed that Reeve was the only person upset by his handling of Cait; Denzel had his head down on the bar, his shoulders shaking with laughter; Ross was leaning against one of the stools, closing his phone after taking a video of Reno's footwork; Tifa, Elena and Yuffie were trying to conceal their laughter, even Shalua was trying to hid a smile behind her hand.

"What? You have a dozen more of them at the WRO base! And I didn't kick it _that_ hard."

Arleen stiffled a laugh as the guy who'd yelled sat back down; he was the man in charge of the WRO, Reeve Tuesti. She looked around the bar quickly as more faces and names popped into her head; Cloud Strife, the man who'd fought Sephiroth; Vincent Valentine, he'd helped to defeat Deepground ... these were all people she had hard about and seen pictures of, but she'd never expected to be standing in a bar staring at them. But, just as nervousness began to take hold, another familiar face came into view.

"Rude!"

"Hey pip-squeak."

She smiled as she wrapped her arms around her godfather's neck; Arleen hadn't seen him in almost a year, he'd come to Costa del Sol with her Dad during the summer last year. She loved how he'd never changed, not since she was a little kid. He'd always been the same Rude; the numerous ear piercings, the silent presence and, of course, the same sunglasses.

She understood why some people found him intimidating. If she hadn't grown up knowing him, then she would have been scared by Rude too. But he wasn't scary; he didn't speak as much as other people, but he was a really good listener. She had confided in him whenever her and Toni had had some stupid argument when they'd been kids.

"Yo partner, don't squash her ... she just got out of hospital, I don't fancy dragging her to another one."

Arleen stuck her tongue out at her Dad, as Rude adjusted his sunglasses and cleared his throat. She took a breath to answer with her own smart comment, but stopped short as she noticed the numerous eyes staring at her. She looked back to her Dad, hoping he would realise she felt uncomfortable.

Ross glanced between the silent inhabitants of the bar and the girl who was apparently Reno's daughter. Denzel had filled him and the others in on the whole _Reno-being-a-Dad_ thing. He hadn't necessarily believed his older brother to start with, but then his parents had pulled him and Mai aside and told them the same thing. Reno actually being a parent was a weird concept, especially when his daughter was about the same age as them. But weirder things had happened in Edge.

The eighteen-year-old smiled as no one else took the hint to break the silence. He and the others had been getting ready to watch a DVD before Cait Sith had picked his pockets and all the adults had apparently lost their manners ... and they had the audacity to reprimand him on being rude at times?

"We're about to start a DVD, c'mon ... it'll be more fun than sitting here and getting stared at for the night."

Arleen nodded as the blond teenager cocked his head towards the open door, alongside the bar-counter; he grabbed an armful of drinks from one of the fridges before heading towards the door, narrowly avoiding a purposely outstretched leg of young man. She stopped herself from following him to look back to her Dad.

"Go ahead, he's right, and it's not often people say that about Ross."

Reno smiled as he watched Arleen follow Ross through the door; she looked happy, he just hoped she stayed that way. She had cried a bit on the way back from Costa del Sol ... he'd asked her if she had wanted to go to the cemetery before leaving, but she'd refused. He would have preferred it if she'd gone, but it wasn't a decision he could force on her.

Toni and Ryan's deaths were something she'd have to deal with in her own way. He couldn't make her accept it and he couldn't make her talk about it either. He had no doubt in his head that she was far from done grieving; she hadn't even started. But he'd be there when she needed a shoulder to cry on.

Reno jumped from his stool as something hit him hard across the back of his head; he spun with both hands on his head, expecting to see Cait Sith standing on the bar or somewhere nearby. But it wasn't Cait Sith standing behind him, it was someone a lot more threatening.

"Elena! What the fuck? That hurt!"

Ten whole days and he hadn't thought to call or text or let them know what was going on; Rude had explained about Arleen, but the fact that she'd been involved in a car crash had been the only thing they knew about her. He could have called to say how she was, or how he was. He could have explained or something, not just leave leave them in the dark about everything.

"You have a cell for a reason!"

Reno stared at the woman, his eyes wide and the back of his head still smarting. This was the sort of reaction he'd expected from Tseng and the President, but not from Elena. He rubbed the back of his head as he stepped backwards, putting another few feet between him and the angered woman.

"My phone died a-"

"And no one else, in _**all**_ of Costa del Sol, had a phone you could borrow?"

He blinked and opened his mouth, hoping a suitable defense would jump to his aid, but he was forced to close his mouth again as words failed him. He guessed this was how Ross felt when Tifa rounded on him ... it wasn't fun; he was in trouble and he didn't know why. It wasn't as if Arleen was her daughter. If anyone should've been angry, it should have been Rude; he was Arleen's godfather and he hadn't once called or text the man until earlier. However, he hadn't hesitated in leaving Rude to explain and cover for him. Reno turned to face Rude as guilt caught him off-guard.

"I should have let you know how things were, sorry about tha – Elena! Hold on for a sec!"

Reno jumped back another few feet as the woman advanced on him again. She was worse than Kelly ... he stopped immediately as the thought crossed his mind. Elena was nothing like his ex. Elena was angry with him because she'd been worried; she didn't even know Arleen and she still cared more about her than Kelly.

"No, Reno. Do you know how worried we were? And you just took off, as usual!"

Reno frowned as the blonde pointed one of her fingers at him, placing her other hand on her hip. She was angry, he got that. He should have called, he knew that. But he hadn't exactly planned for things to turn out the way they had. He'd just had one of the worst weeks of his life and she wasn't making it much better.

"What? I didn't call, big deal. I had other things on my mind. In case you haven't noticed, I have a teenage daughter in that room too – her mother didn't even show up at the hospital and I've just found out that I've been letting her live in the same house as a guy who hurts her ... _**and**_ I had to tell her that her two best friends were dead this morning, so excuse me for not giving you a daily update!"

Reno sat back down on his bar-stool as he finished his shouted explanation ... he hoped the teenagers had the living room door closed, or the volume of the DVD up high, he didn't want Arleen to hear his outburst. This parent stuff was harder than he wanted to admit; he'd always had the easy role, be there for two or three days, then disappear for weeks. He wanted Arleen to live with him, he always had, but Kelly had done everything in her power to stand in his way.

Reno ran his hand over his face as he looked back up to Elena; she looked like she was ready to cry. She didn't deserve to be yelled at, and now the whole bar knew about Chris. He wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing; Vincent and Cloud had daughters, they could understand where he was coming from.

"Sorry Elena ... it's been a long week."

* * *

**_A/N: Thanks for taking the time to read, and thanks for the support so far! ;)_**

**_Last Revision: 01/05/11_**


	7. DVD

_**A/N: Hiya, here's the next chapter :)**_

* * *

"Hey, drinks are up – get lost Robbie - Denzel already tried that!"

Arleen caught one of the drinks as it tumbled from Ross's arm; another blond who was usually in trouble with Ross, she guessed the guy who'd just tried to trip him was Robbie, the one who liked to curse. A younger girl with long blonde hair sat in the armchair next to him, according to her Dad's descriptions, she was Mai and the guy with her was Declan, Rufus ShinRa's son.

"Thanks."

Ross nodded his thanks and took the drink from Arleen, pausing on his way to his seat to forcefully kick Robbie in the shin; he still owed him for a detention last week. The eighteen-year-old put the drinks on the table and looked back to Arleen; she looked nervous, he hardly blamed her, her first experience of 7th Heaven had been him racing around the bar after a talking cat.

"You can sit down if you want, Arleen. We won't bite; keep up, Aiveen, Mai, Robbie, Declan, Jared ... and here's tall dark and clueless!"

Arleen nodded quickly after each name as Ross pointed around the room, she'd been right with their names so far. A small giggle escaped her mouth as she looked to the living room door, where Matt now stood, looking severely confused with Ross's greeting. He was a lot taller than she'd thought, he easily towered over her and was probably taller than the other guys in the room too.

"Anyone know what my Dad was yelling about?"

He'd fought her friend Reagan at the tournament, a few weeks ago. Her club had been one of the best in Costa del Sol and they had been pretty intense where competitions had been concerned; they'd trained three or four times a week, then traveled to other clubs during the weekends for sparring matches. Reagan hadn't been exactly ecstatic when he'd heard about who he'd be fighting. He'd only just moved up to the light heavyweight division that year, whereas Matt had been fighting at that weight for about two years. Arleen shook herself from her thoughts as she suddenly noticed that she was staring at Matt, a hint of confusion in his emerald eyes.

"It might have something to do with my Dad kicking a talking cat out the door..."

"Shove over and make some room already!"

Arleen hid a smile as Ross tried to kick Jared; he seemed to have a habit of kicking people, that could be why the guy called Denzel and Robbie had both tried to trip him. Her Dad had said he liked to act like an idiot, but was apparently clever. So far, he just seemed like a laid back and friendly guy. She guessed that he and Aiveen had been a couple for a while, judging by how Aiveen sat with her head against his chest, the same went for Declan and Mai.

* * *

He was sorry, she heard it in his voice. He didn't usually explode like that, even when he had reason to, Reno always kept his emotions in check; he opted for silent revenge or outright confrontation before it got to him too much. Elena hadn't stopped to think about how much he'd been dealing with, she'd been angry with him for keeping such a large secret from them. Rude had tried to defend him, but she'd still felt betrayed.

They had all gone through hell and back together; Sephiroth, Meteor, Geostigma, the Remnants and then Deepground ... all that time, he had been lounging around with Rude, watching everyone else settle down and start their families. He'd been a constant presence while their kids had grown up; Declan and Jared had spent most of their childhoods running around the floors of the ShinRa building and Reno had always been there to help catch the two trouble-makers ... but never once had he let slip a hint that he had a kid around their age.

Elena kept her eyes on her friend as she eased herself onto the bar-stool beside him; he had his head down on the counter of the bar. His words only confused her, she hadn't known that the other two teenagers had died. She didn't understand what he meant about a guy hurting Arleen. Elena put a hand on her friend's shoulder as she spoke quietly.

"I don't understand ... what do you mean?"

Reno pulled his head up from the counter, turning to look at Elena; she was a clever woman, his words had been blunt, surely she understood? He didn't feel like explaining everything again. He had already gone through all that at ShinRa. Arleen hadn't said anything else about it since they'd left the hospital in Costa del Sol. He'd wanted to ask her about it on the way to Edge, but she'd been upset and it hadn't seemed like a great ice-breaker.

"I meant what I said."

Cloud eyed the Turk from where he stood, leaning against one of the small fridges that he'd been restocking before Cait Sith's little robbery act. He and Reno had never been the best of friends, and they never would be. But they tolerated each other and they had a mutual respect for each other; he was a good fighter and, despite his penchant for gossiping, he was still one of the most trustworthy people he knew. Reno was the last person he'd expected to have a daughter, but despite that, Cloud knew that the man was probably well-suited for the role of father.

He certainly hadn't been. He could deal with boys; Ross could be as clueless as they came at times, but then a genius other times. He'd gone through the whole rebellion phase, where he'd argued with everything and anything. Cloud had put up with it for as long as possible, until the teenager had pushed it too far, about two years ago. The then sixteen-year-old had tried to size up and push past him during an argument ... the argument had ended with Cloud giving his son a taste of his own medicine, things had calmed down after that.

Girls confused him. He had no idea what Mai was thinking about half of the time, or what she was up to. Ross joked around and told him stuff, whereas his daughter kept her secrets and plans to herself. Boys didn't have mood swings or the danger of dealing with a broken heart. He didn't know a lot about dealing with the _girly_ side of things, Tifa took care of those matters. But Cloud knew that if Mai ever did need to tell him something, or was in trouble, he'd be there with no questions.

"Elaborate on the guy thing."

Reno glanced up, from where he'd been flicking a bar mat around, as Cloud spoke. He had a daughter; he would outright kill any guy who lay a finger on Mai; Vincent would waste no time in doing the same to any person who hurt Aiveen ... had he over-reacted when Anthony had told him about Chris? He wanted to believe that he hadn't punished the mane enough. He'd have to explain sooner or later, and given his recent missing act, they deserved an answer.

"Kelly's fiancé is the guy who opened up the gyms in Costa del Sol a few years ago. I found out that he's been hurting Arly ... that's why she's here now. I know this whole me-being-a-parent thing is new to all of you, but I ain't about to let anyone hurt my daughter."

That was all she needed to hear; she'd known Reno longer than she cared to remember, he had been a good friend through the years and now he needed help for a change. He might not have realised it yet, but he was swimming out of his depth. Elena leaned over the counter of the bar and grabbed the notepad and pen Tifa had been listing supplies on. She flicked forward a few pages until she found a clear sheet and began to write.

Reno stared at the blonde as she began to scribble away on the notepad; he knew he shouldn't have shouted at her, but was she seriously that peeved that she was resorting to handwritten messages? Reno blinked and let another moment slide by before curiosity got the better of him.

"Uh, whatcha doin?"

He frowned as the Turk only waved a hand in his direction and continued to write. Maybe she was still mad at him? He watched as she eventually finished writing and looked up, cutting across him before he could ask any other questions.

"What do you know about raising a teenager?"

Reno took a breath to defend himself, but faltered as no argument came to mind; he didn't know a single thing about being responsible for a teenager, he had almost no experience. But, he knew how they worked; he knew how to spot when they were hiding things, he knew how to play their games and he was willing to learn.

Elena took his silence as an answer. The Turk lifted her arm from the sheet of paper and slid it across the bar, for her friend to read.

"It's a list. If Arleen is going to be staying with you, then you need to cover the basics, Reno. School, food, rules an-"

"School is covered. I got some of her things before leaving Costa del Sol. Arleen does the opposite of whatever Kelly says and usually listens to me ... stop trying to scare me!"

Tifa cringed as she scanned over Elena's list, she'd forgotten a few things. Having a teenager was hard work. So far, she'd had plenty of teenagers of her own; Denzel, Marlene, Ross and Mai. Denzel was a young man now, with a long-term girlfriend and a job; Marlene was at University, in her final year of medical studies; Ross was doing his Leaving Certificate, while Mai was in fourth year.

It didn't matter how much a girl loved her father, there would always be things that she couldn't tell him. There had been secrets she hadn't told her father. Mai kept some things from Cloud, as Aiveen did with Vincent. It wasn't done in a hurtful way, it was just the way things were.

"Reno, what're you going to do if she has girl-problems?"

Reno locked gazes with the barmaid, narrowing his eyes childishly as he spoke. He knew it wasn't going to be a walk in the park, but he didn't need them reminding him of that.

"You just love to torment me, don't you?"

* * *

"So, how's Edge so far?"

Arleen looked up from the television, the DVD was some comedy, but she hadn't been paying much attention. She had been running through names and connections in her head; Ross was with Aiveen, his little sister was going out with Declan ... and it all blurred a bit after that.

"I've only seen the ShinRa building so far ... I'm still a bit behind on who everyone is, though. Dad explained, but I've forgotten."

Aiveen smiled and sat up, leaning on the arm of the sofa, ignoring Ross and Robbie as they began bickering again; they'd never change, they'd still be like that when they were in a nursing home. It was no surprise that Arleen felt a little lost, the guys didn't exactly create a calm and welcoming environment. She was in a new place and knew nobody, apart from her father and Rude. Aiveen knew how that felt.

She'd spent most of her childhood in Wutai, only spending time in Edge when her Mom and Dad had visited Cloud and everyone else. They had moved back to Edge almost six years ago, so that she could attend second level education in the city; her grandfather had thought a more rounded education would benefit her in the future. She hadn't complained; she had gotten to hang-out with her childhood friends more and had, somehow, ended up in a relationship with Ross. She wasn't sure what would happen them, as a couple, after their exams; she would inevitably have to return to Wutai and learn more about how the country functioned, but they'd cross that bridge when it came.

"Don't worry, I felt the same when we moved here, but it does get easier. I'll make it easy, you know my parents, Yuffie and Vincent Valentine?"

Arleen nodded quickly, she knew what they looked like. She'd seen pictures and news reports about Wutai and they had watched a documentary about the Wutai War in history, several months ago. She also knew Ross and Mai's parents; Cloud and Tifa Strife. Everyone knew Cloud, his role in the Geostigma epidemic wasn't something people tended to downplay or forget about, regardless of the years that had passed since.

"And Ross and Mai's parents are Cloud and Tifa."

Aiveen smiled as the other girl seemed to perk up a bit. She didn't want to be nosy or insensitive by asking questions about the car crash; she already felt invasive knowing about the crash. They'd all seen it on the news report, Denzel had been flicking idly through the channels, little had they known that one of the people involved had a connection to them

"Yup, but there's two older kids too, kinda. Denzel is the eldest, he's the guy who tried to trip Ross earlier, his Mom and Dad died when Sector 7 collapsed. He lived with Matt's Granny for a while, before she died. He got Geostigma after that; Cloud found him near a church in the Slums. Cloud and Tifa adopted him after Deepground. Oh, he has a girlfriend called Rayna, just so you don't confused when you see her. Then there's Marlene, Barret is her Dad, but Cloud and Tifa looked after her when Barret was working. She's at University right now, but she should be back to visit in a few weeks."

Arleen nodded as the shorter girl finished speaking; she hadn't realised the guy who'd tried to trip Ross, had been his brother. It was obvious that Cloud was Ross and Mai's father, they all shared the same coloured hair and eyes. Denzel was the opposite and it sounded like he'd had a tough life so far; not that his grin and actions earlier hinted at that. But who was she to judge people on appearances? The teachers at her school had assumed she just enjoyed arguing with them and racking up detentions ... not one of them, apart from Anthony, had stopped to consider that she'd been reacting to something else.

So far, it was Aiveen and her parents, Yuffie and Vincent. Then, Cloud and Tifa's lot – Denzel, Marlene, Ross and Mai – Barret fell into that group too, it made it a litle easier to remember.

"The guy currently arguing with Ross is Robbie Highwind. His Mom and Dad are Cid and Shera; Cid's the man Tifa yells at for smoking in the bar, he usually has drinking competitions with your Dad. And Shera usually yells at Robbie for swearing."

Arleen hid a smile behind her hand as she caught an example of Robbie's vocabulary; Aiveen's description backed up her Dad's to a tee. She possessed a sharp tongue when she got frustrated, but Robbie's language was enough to make even her blush.

"Jared's parents are Tseng and Elena, you'll get to know him pretty fast. Then there's Declan, his Dad is Rufus ShinRa, if you ever get caught with your phone in class, just toss it to him or Matt, they're allowed to have their phones on them coz of ShinRa and WRO stuff."

Aiveen nodded her head towards both guys; they came in handy during random phone searches. Matt was allowed to keep his phone on him, in case his Dad or any of the WRO needed to reach him. He was second in command of the force, while his parents did their best stop the WRO dragging Matt from school, there were times when he was needed. The same went for Declan, he was Vice President of ShinRa and had to take care of things when his Dad was out of Edge, or otherwise preoccupied. Most of the teachers were fine with it, but not their health education teacher, she despised their exemption.

She rolled her eyes as Robbie and Ross continued to bicker at the other end of the sofa. Mai was curled up in Declan's arms; Arleen was the only other girl in the room and Aiveen was concerned that she was still a little uncomfortable. She didn't want her to feel out of place, she knew what it was like to be the new girl.

"So, are you going to be in our class?"

"I guess so, I haven't asked my Dad about school yet."

Aiveen hoped she was, she needed another girl in the group; Mai was two years behind her in school, so she was the only girl in their group in classes. The guys tended to get bored in school in record time; they were all in their final year, yet preferred to spend their time getting kicked out of classes, she needed a sane person to keep her company when all the guys were in trouble.

"Don't worry, I'll look after you!"

"Ha, says the five foot ninja!"

Arleen laughed as Aiveen narrowed her eyes and stuck her tongue out at Robbie. They all seemed nice; Aiveen was friendly and easy to get along with. Everyone she'd met in Edge had been nothing but welcoming, it surprised her a little, but it was a surprise she welcomed.

"Got any hobbies or interests? I'll let you know if we have them here."

She had been big into boxing, but she hadn't gone back training after the last tournament. She couldn't exactly go back competing either, she was sore all over and had a broken arm. She did miss it though, she had only stopped because of who the head coach had been; she had always been under one of the other coaches when she'd been younger, but Chris had decided to switch her to his group after she'd won a few difficult bouts. Arleen smiled and nodded as she leaned up, pushing thoughts of her mother's fiancé to the back of her head, she tucked her feet up next to her as she answered Aiveen's question.

"Mmm-hmm, I used to do a lot of boxing, but I haven't been training in a while..."

Matt dragged his attention away from the television as his hearing picked up on boxing. He turned and watched Avieen talking to the new girl; she was Reno's kid, a surprise, but kind of cool in other ways. Reno was one of the only adults that the teenagers trusted, it had come as a surprise to learn that Reno had a daughter, but it did fit.

He had a nagging feeling in the back of his head, that he should know her or remember her from somewhere. She'd mentioned something about boxing to Aiveen and she'd lived in Costa del Sol. Matt stared at Arleen as he tried to place her. He'd fought at a couple of tournaments and sparring matches in Costa del Sol, one of the tournaments had only been a few weeks ago, thought there had only been three female fights then, and only one or two of the girls had been from Costa del Sol. The eighteen-year-old frowned as curiosity outweighed his interest in the DVD.

"Don't mean to be rude, but what's your surname again?"

Arleen followed Aiveen's gaze, back over her shoulder, staring at Matt again. She waited for Aiveen to answer his question before cringing inwardly, mentally kicking herself as she realised the question had been for her, not Aiveen.

"McKenzie ... you fought one of the light-heavyweights in my club a few weeks ago."

He knew he'd known her from somewhere, Matt smiled as he sat up more on the sofa; she'd fought against Cath from his club. He hadn't been able to see her hair colour or many discernible features because of the headgear, but he definitely knew her name; she'd been boxing since her preteens and had only lost one or two bouts, the boxing world worked on names and club names, not faces.

"You made Cath eat her words ... she spent the whole journey to Costa del Sol, bragging about how she was going to win."

Arleen smirked and sat further back into the sofa, so as not to turn her back on Aiveen; that had been a fun fight, the girl had been a few kilos heavier than her and a little taller, but she hadn't used combinations, footwork, or any strategy. It had lasted for three rounds, but Arleen had won by a landslide in the end.

"I don't want to talk badly about anyone from your club, but she hadn't exactly thought about how she was going to fight, before getting through the ropes."

Cath was the kind of girl who talked a lot about her own supposed skills, then tried to make excuses when asked to demonstrate. Matt had spent long enough in the same club as her to know little work she put into the sport; she generally sat on one of the benches to waste time, or took forever to finish the run at the beginning of training. Their club didn't have a lot of money, and facilities were limited, but their coaches were some of the best. Zangan was harsh, but he knew what he was talking about.

"Talk as badly as you like about her, she's not in the club anymore, she dropped out after that tournament. And I agree with you. You should come along some night, Zangan and the others would seriously appreciate some outside eyes."

Ross glanced from Matt to Arleen as he tossed a cushion towards Robbie; Matt knew Arleen. Why hadn't he told them about her earlier? They had all been informed about her by Denzel and their parents. The eighteen-year-old groaned and kicked Robbie hard into the shin as a cushion struck the side of his head; he wasn't in the mood for messing.

"You knew her all along, and never told any of us?

Matt ducked as a cushion flew his way; trust Ross to leap to the wrong conclusion. He hadn't kept anything from them, up until five minutes ago, he hadn't been aware that he'd known Arleen, sort of. He ducked as another cushion was thrown his way and took a breath to answer, grabbing a third cushion before it hit Arleen.

"First off, improve your aim. Second, I didn't know Reno was her Dad. I knew her surname from boxing, because she fought one of the girls from my club, but I didn't get to see what she looked like, coz of the headgear, and I was at the back of the hall – furthest away from the ring."

Ross leaned sideways as Matt threw the cushion back at him; he needed to work on his aim too. But point taken, he'd almost managed to hit Arleen with the last cushion he'd thrown. That would have been a great first impression, and Ross didn't even want to think about how Reno would react; he knew if he hit Aiveen with it, she or Yuffie would pay him back with interest, but Reno was still a blank canvas where parental stuff was concerned, and he was in no rush to find out the guy worked in that department.

"Sorry – I wasn't aiming for y-ahh!"

Arleen tried again to hid a laugh behind her hand, as Ross was sent sprawling on the floor from a well-timed tackle of Robbie's. She nodded at his apology, while fighting her laughter as the two blonds rolled around the floor of the living room. She'd only been in 7th Heaven for an hour, yet she already had a good idea of how the group worked; Ross and Robbie were the entertainment factor, that much was clear; Jared was the quiet schemer, along with Mai; Declan pointed out when Ross and Robbie were wrong; Matt was the observer, while Aiveen kept them all in line. Arleen tucked her legs up behind her once more, as Ross and Robbie continued to Roll around, she grimaced as she accidentally kicked Matt.

"Sorry ... five gil on Ross?"

Matt grinned and cocked his head to the side, surprised by Arleen's humour. Reno usually called bets when the two guys started killing each other, he hadn't expected Arleen to come out with that; if she shared some of Reno's regard for authority, then they were all in for some fun when it came to school.

"You're on, McKenzie – might as well just hand over the gil now, I don't lose!"

* * *

**_A/N: Thanks for reading :)_**

**_Last Revision - 05/05/11  
_**


	8. Morning

_**A/N: Sorry for the wait, here's the next chapter :)**_

* * *

The sun crept through the curtains as he continued to stare at the ceiling; he had been awake for the past hour, refusing to get up until his alarm sounded. He was going back to work today, Tseng had given him the rest of last week off, after he'd returned from Costa del Sol. The last few days had been as much as a rush as the last two weeks had been; Elena had gone between work and giving what she'd deemed as helpful tips; Yuffie had taken both Aiveen and Arleen shopping yesterday, while Tifa and Rayna had given him a hand to sort things out at the apartment ... including a lecture about the state of his kitchen and the lack of food in his fridge.

He complained about how the women had all been picking on him, since Wednesday night, but he did appreciate their input and their help. He hadn't been impressed with their overbearing opinions at first, but he'd quickly realised they were the experts in raising kids; he was flying solo and Kelly was somewhere in the wings, just waiting for him to fall flat on his face ... he didn't want to give her the satisfaction of watching him screw up.

Reno rolled his eyes and sighed as his alarm clock went off; he might have been awake, but that didn't mean he wanted to go to work. By now, the entire Turk floor would know about his trip to Costa del Sol and Arleen. He'd ensured that by telling Rod, it was easier to tell the red-head than explaining individually. The Turk tossed the duvet off him and stood, accidentally knocking his alarm clock to the floor as he tried to stop it.

He wasn't making Arleen start school until next week, that mean he could either bring her to the ShinRa building, or leave her in the apartment by herself. He knew Tseng wouldn't care if he brought Arleen with him; the teenagers seemed to spent most their days off or lunch hours there as matters stood.

Reno yawned as he wiped sleep from his eyes; walking down the hall towards, what was now, his daughter's bedroom. He was bringing her with him; ShinRa would be more fun than sitting in an empty apartment all day, she could get to know some of the Turks too. However, he wasn't sure if he wanted her to get to know Rod and Chase too well, the red-head and blonde were skilled and certainly deserved to be Turks, but they wrecked his head at the same time.

"Hey, Arly – time to get up!"

"I'm already up."

Arleen laughed as her Dad jumped; she'd been awake with the last half an hour, flicking through the television channels and wandering around the apartment, trying to get familiar with every inch of her new home. She'd already gotten used to the temperamental front door; twist, kick, and push. It had taken a painful collision with her forehead for her to remember that.

She'd only been living with her Dad for five days, but it already felt more like a home than her Mom's house had; she'd spent most of her time in her room, or at Toni or Ryan's homes. She hadn't been able to just sit down and watch television at her Mom's, or hang out with her friends there; her Mom and Chris had always managed to make other people feel uncomfortable to the point where they'd made excuses to leave.

Her Dad didn't. He had gone out of his way to make sure everything was okay for her. He'd even asked Tifa and Rayna to help him sort out the apartment and spare room, while she'd been out shopping with Aiveen and her Mom. There had been nothing wrong with the place to start with. As for Aiveen and the gang, they were proving themselves to be nothing but welcoming, especially Aiveen and Matt.

"Heart attack?"

"I ain't that old."

"_Yet_ ..."

Reno did a double take as he picked up on Arleen's lowly-spoken comment; she was coming back around to her usual self again. Though, he wasn't sure having her hang out with Ross and Robbie was such a good idea, especially where school was concerned. He had only been in Costa del Sol at the weekends, but he had always tried to be there on Friday nights, or Saturday mornings at the latest. Sometimes he got held up in work, or with the gang at 7th Heaven, but he had always tried to be there to collect Arleen from school on those Saturdays.

It wasn't that she ever went out of her way to cause trouble in school, Arleen just tended to speak before thinking. He was the last person to lecture her about getting detention or for getting into trouble. He had delighted in causing trouble whenever he'd bothered to go in school when he'd been a kid. Reno shook his head and leaned back against the kitchen counter, pulling on his socks as he spoke.

"Kay, two options. One, stay here all by your lonesome. Two, come to ShinRa and kill time there ... just so you know, one is not really an option."

Arleen frowned as she leaned her head back over the arm of the sofa, watching her father from her upside down perspective; basically, he wasn't giving her an option, but was trying to make her think she did. Her Mom would have just told her what to do, leading to an argument. The seventeen-year-old rolled over on the sofa and gave her father a confused look as she eyed his shirt.

"Ever hear of an iron?"

Weren't irons those magical items, that made creases disappear? Of course he'd heard of an iron, he also owned one. He mightn't know exactly where it was in the apartment, but he definitely had one ... somewhere. Reno thought back as he buttoned his shirt, suddenly curious as to where the iron now was, not that he wanted to use it; wearing a uniform was enough of an effort for work, everyone at ShinRa were used to his treatment of the dress-code at this stage, if he showed up with an pressed shirt and tie, they'd probably send him home on sick-leave.

"Arly, remember Rod's face when I said you were my daughter? If I show up at work, with an ironed shirt, he'll faint ... actually, there's an idea."

"You're evil."

Reno shrugged, a smirk on his face as he accepted his daughter's words. He wasn't entirely evil; he just enjoyed tormenting some people. Rodd, Kelly and Yuffie were his usual targets, but he generally focused on anyone who was easy to wind up. He and Rod had an ongoing rivalry; each trying to trick or out-wit the other. Kelly was just easy to annoy, she always had been. Even when he tried to be civil with her; saying hello seemed capable of setting the blonde on a bitch fit. As for Yuffie, she was just fun to argue with.

"Nay, I just lack concern ... gonna get dressed, or d'you want me to drag you to ShinRa in your pyjamas?"

"You wouldn't dare!"

"That's what Cait Sith said, remember what I did to him?"

Arleen held her hands up in submission as she stood from the sofa, fighting a giggle at the recollection of her Dad's treatment of the cat, as she walked towards her room. She didn't put it past him to deliver on that threat, even just for his own entertainment.

It probably would be more fun to spend the day at ShinRa than watching re-runs on the television. From what she'd seen of the building so far, it looked like dull days were far and few between. She'd made an attempt to learn as many of the Turks' names as possible in the last few days. A task that was proving easier said than done, especially when the whole floor wore the same black suits.

* * *

"Does Rod always try to trip or kick you?"

Reno nodded as he pushed through the door of the Turks' lounge; that was how Rod was, no big deal. He was still one of the younger Turks, people tended to forget that. From the outside, it looked like he was slacking off the whole time and just annoyed the older members, but Rod wasn't that black and white; he'd lived on the Plate and had come from a well-off family. They hadn't been exactly happy when he'd become a gang leader at eighteen, his subsequent decision to join the Turks hadn't sat well with his family either; they hadn't spoken to him since he'd joined ShinRa. All the Turks had stories and lives, very few people outside of the department knew what those stories were, however.

Reno glanced back over his shoulder, holding the door open as Arleen ducked beneath his arm, walking into the empty room ahead of him. The lounge was empty, he'd expected that considering the early time. The Turk glanced to his watch, he was really going to give people a shock this week; showing up with Arleen, and now he was going to be early for work. He leaned back against the wall as he pointed out the main features of the lounge.

"Food in the fridge; don't touch the stuff in foil, it's probably gone off. Showers and bathrooms are through the door nearest the kitchen area. Extra clothes, blankets and stuff are in the closet. And knock yourself out with the television – see you later, Arly."

Arleen nodded quickly and smiled as her Dad disappeared out the door. She looked from the kitchen area to where her Dad had pointed towards a closet on the opposite side of the room. The seventeen-year-old wasted no time in exploring the large room; several couches and armchairs lay around the lounge, a large television was wall-mounted opposite the door, and a fully equipped kitchen lay to the left of the entrance. Arleen spent a full ten minutes slowly walking around the lounge, randomly opening cupboards and presses to see what was inside, before eventually coming to rest at the sofa in front of the television.

Arleen lay down as she flicked through some of the channels. All the times she'd wished that she could live with her Dad, instead of her Mom, and now she was. This was where he worked; ShinRa, the company that had risen again after Deepground; the company that was run by the supposedly heartless Rufus ShinRa ... the same man she'd had a casual conversation with yesterday; the same company her mother hated with a vengeance.

In the last few days, Arleen had learned just how misinformed, about people, she'd been. In Costa del Sol, ShinRa was the company that frequented the city during its peak seasons, for staff vacations and minor supplies. The older residents of Costa del Sol had told takes about the Turks working for ShinRa; though many had tried to keep their stories to themselves, knowing her father was a senior Turk. Her mother hadn't had any qualms about speaking ill of the Turks though, especially not of her father.

She didn't know why her parents butted heads so much; they always had, she couldn't remember them ever sitting down and having a civil conversation together. Her Mom wouldn't even entertain the idea of being nice to her Dad. Not that her Dad helped matters, he loved annoying her mother. They were a match made in hell, how they'd ever managed to sustain a relationship, long enough for her mother to fall pregnant, was beyond Arleen. However, she, of all people, knew a relationship wasn't necessary for someone to get pregnant, but she liked to believe that her parents had cared about each other, at some stage in the past.

Arleen had never dared to ask her mother what had happened between her and her Dad; it would have started another fight, then Chris would have got involved. If she wanted a truthful answer, she had to ask her Dad; he wouldn't lie to her. He would try to joke about it and get out of answering, but he wouldn't lie to her.

All of the other teenagers in Edge had normal families and parents that didn't try to push each other to their limits. Elena, Yuffie, Tifa, Rayna, Shera and Shalua had all been more concerned about her, than her own mother. She hadn't expected so many people to care about her, especially when she hadn't known any of them. She hadn't expected for the Turks to be so normal; Rod was the prankster, Cissnei was the mother figure, Chase was the baby, Adel was the big sister ... Tseng kept them all in line, and though she'd only known the man a short space of time, Arleen knew he would do all in his power to protect his Turks.

Arleen smiled as she looked to her arm; the white cast now covered with numerous names, scribbles and random words; Ross had managed to find several coloured markers in 7th Heaven yesterday. She still felt sad that two names where on it, however. Ryan and Tone would have loved to see this place ... even if she had still moved away, they could have come to visit, her Dad would have left them, without any questions.

Toni would have made friends with Aiveen in no time; they both had a tendency to speak fast, along with a shared hyperactive nature. Ryan would have been joining in with Robbie and Ross in their wrestling matches, either that or he would have been placing bets with Matt.

Arleen stood and grabbed a blanket from the closet her Dad had pointed out, a shiver suddenly chilling her. She wrapped the blanket around her shoulders, then lay back down on the couch, choosing to face her back towards the television ... she could have told Ryan and Toni anything; she had in the past. They'd made her promise to do something about Chris, but she'd missed her change to tell them her biggest secret. Arleen silently wondered if people on the other side of the lifestream could know the secrets a person still hadn't told; could they know what she hadn't admitted to anyone yet? What if they were angry with her for not trusting them?

* * *

_**A/N: Thanks for reading! ;)**_

_**Last Revision - 05/05/11**_


	9. Work

_**A/N: Here's the next chapter :)**_

* * *

"_I vote DVD night – and we're getting a horror movie – I'm sick of lovey-dovey stuff!"_

"_Ooookay ... but if I need to go to the bathroom, one of you'll have to come with me ... I am sooo not going on my own."_

"_D'aww, poor little Toni's afraid of the dark, aww – shit!"_

Arleen snapped her eyes open as she fell from her dream; she tried to sit up, sleep still making her thoughts hazy. The seventeen-year-old threw an arm out as her stomach lurched, the ground rushed up to meet her. It took a few more moments for her to realise she was in the Turks' Lounge ... not in Ryan's car. She blinked sleep from her eyes and stared at the carpet she was now kneeling on; how long had she been asleep? Someone had turned down the volume on the television and turned off the lights.

Arleen slowly pulled herself up from the floor; her mind still reeling for the dream she'd just had ... why did that scene always replay itself? She'd spent the days, since moving to Edge, trying her best not to dwell on the crash. She didn't want to be faced with all the what ifs and buts; she didn't have the answers for those questions. No one did. There was no logic in asking or thinking about it, when no one would ever give her a clear answer.

She stooped and picked up the blanket she had dragged to the ground with her, and began to fold it, ignoring the low rumble of her stomach. She guessed skipping breakfast hadn't been one of her brightest ideas. Arleen jumped as she noticed a movement in the corner of her eye.

"Easy ... didn't mean to scare you."

Chase raised his hands to chest-level, palms facing out, towards the startled teenager. He hadn't meant to frighten the girl; she'd been asleep on one of the sofas when he'd come in. Rod had spent the final two or three days of last week, ensuring everyone in the ShinRa building knew the reason behind Reno's elusive weekends. He'd laughed at first, believing it had been another of Rod's jokes, it had only been when he'd got back to his apartment, and mentioned the supposed joke to his girlfriend, that he'd realised it had been the truth; Ciara had explained how she'd seen the girl and heard the news from Reno himself.

Admittedly, the idea of Reno being a father had drawn a laugh from him. However, he wasn't as disbelieving as some of the older Turks; they tended to forget that the red-head had grown up, like everyone else. Tseng and Elena had Jared, even the President had Declan; they'd all grown up since Meteor, Reno was no different from them. The older Turks still saw Reno as the wiry and unruly young man he'd been, during they hay-day of ShinRa in Midgar; they couldn't connect that guy with the notion of parenthood.

That was their loss. He didn't know much about the girl, only the bare facts Rod had trickled around the building; she'd been in a car accident, the two friends she'd been travelling with had been killed, marking questions about how she'd broken her arm with a small red flag; approach the subject with common sense. Chase nodded his head towards the table, leaning back against the counter as he spoke.

"I figured you'd want something to eat before everyone else arrives for lunch ... trust me, once they get here, you'll be lucky to find anything left in the fridge."

Arleen looked to the table, blinking back shock as she stared at a sandwich and a can of soda. She looked back to the Turk; blue eyes and messy blonde hair ... he was Chase. He usually hung out with Rod. She'd seen him a few days ago; Rod had held him in a headlock, which was where she'd learned his name. Her Dad had filled her in on his name and why and Rod referred to him as Rich-boy, or Sunshine most of the time.

He'd come from a wealthy family in Bone Village and had joined the Turks in his late teens, after getting fed up with his pampered life of no challenges. Despite leaving behind his privileges and trappings, her Dad and Rod still used it to ridicule the young man. Arleen shook herself from her thoughts, suddenly realising how ignorant she was being, staring wide-eyed at someone who'd made lunch for her and was being nothing but kind to her.

"Um, thanks ... sorry, I'm Ar-"

"Arleen? Trust me we all know your name at this stage ... and I know that sounded rather stalker-ish."

She couldn't help but smile at his comment, as she slid into one of the chairs at the table. Chase seemed really nice. That seemed to be the running theme with people she met in Edge. They were all going out of their way to make her feel welcome. She didn't even know this person, but he'd made her lunch and ensured nothing had awoken her, and all because he knew her Dad.

That definitely wouldn't have happened in Costa del Sol; anyone who'd known her had known not to ask questions or stick their noses in. Her mother didn't appreciate the people she knew, let alone complete strangers getting involved. Nobody had made her lunch in Costa del Sol, not unless she'd been at Ryan or Toni's, but they had usually just helped themselves to whatever was in the fridge then. She wouldn't have fallen asleep on the sofa in Costa del Sol; her mother would have been the first to wake her up and yell at her for leaving the television on, or Chris would have.

Everyone she'd met in Edge was treating her as if they'd known her for years, not days. Arleen looked across the table as she spoke, wiping sleep from her eyes; she had no idea where her Dad was, or how to start navigating the labyrinth of a building. If she wandered of without directions, she'd be sure to get lost.

"Thanks again, Chase. I have a dumb question, how do I not get lost in this place?"

That was a simple question to answer; you didn't. You got lost, multiple times, before you figured out the easiest route to wherever you wanted to go. The building was modelled after the old headquarters in Midgar, externally and internally, however, that still didn't stop even senior staff members from getting lost. The place was a maze. He still got lost when asked to deliver a message or file to some random part of the building; he knew the easiest way to the Turks' floor, President's office, Tseng's office and Reno's office. He also knew where the receptionists and secretaries spent their breaks; he usually dropped by to annoy Ciara on her breaks. After that, he only had a general idea of where the other departments were.

Chase cringed as he tried to think of the easiest way to give directions. The teenager shared many traits with her father; her hair colour, the colour of her eyes...she seemed timid, that definitely didn't match with Reno's personality, however. Chase had been quiet when he'd first moved from Bone Village to Midgar; he'd been accustomed to a life of luxury, something the Turks definitely hadn't been, but he didn't regret his decision.

"The harder you try not to get lost, the more likely you'll be to get lost in this place. I'll give you the basics, but I'm giving you a heads up too: you will get lost. Your Dad's office is near the collective work area; big room with lots of desks, terminals and a mainframe, if you hear someone saying they're working on the Turks' Floor, that's the place. Your Dad's hardly ever in his office, he usually hangs out here, or on the Turks' Floor; head to the end of the corridor outside, go up one floor and walk down another corridor, it's at the end."

That sounded confusing, even to him. But it was the easiest and most straightforward route to the Turks' Floor. Rod had given him directions when he'd been a newbie ... he'd ended up on the opposite side of the building and two floors down. That had probably been the man's intention, however. The building also only had two elevators; it was generally quicker to use the stairs, even though they were marked for emergency only. Chase smiled as he watched confusion cloud Arleen's eyes; he mightn't be able to promise she wouldn't get lost, but he could help her out when she did.

"Can I have your phone for a minute?"

Arleen glanced up, still mentally reciting Chase's directions, she hoped the more she repeated them, the more sense they would make when she eventually decided to go walk-abouts. The seventeen-year-old nodded slowly and slid her phone across the table to the young man. She watched in bemused silence as he entered a number before passing it back to her.

"My number ... if you do get lost, give me a text and I'll help you out. Don't even bother asking Rod for help, he'll just ensure you get twice as lost. I'm speaking from painful experience on that."

Arleen laughed as Chase shook his head, a look of utter annoyance on his face. From what she'd seen of Rod so far, he seemed like the prankster among the ranks. Her first encounter with the man had been him attempting to trip her father, and he'd attempted to repeat his attempt in the days that followed. Her Dad had praised his mechanical skills, but it seemed that his sense of humour and lack of work ethic over-shadowed such skills.

* * *

Chase hadn't been joking; by his directions, she should have found the Turks' floor in less than ten minutes ... half an hour after leaving the Turks' Lounge and she'd still been strolling through corridors. Arleen had cursed herself for not paying more attention when her Dad had brought her to the floor last week. Texting Chase had been her final option after half an hour of aimless wandering, he'd given her directions from were she'd ended up near the reception hall.

All the corridors in the building were identical, how was anyone supposed to find their way around? Arleen shook her head as she pushed through the glass door of the Turks' floor, relief flooding her as she finally found the floor. The teenager stepped aside as several suited personnel passed through the door behind her. She hadn't realised how many people the floor could hold; dozens of Turks were seated around the individual terminals, others were dotted around the large room; working at desks and leaning over the shoulders of their colleagues.

A Turk with slicked-back black hair and glasses stood before a large mainframe, conversing with another male on the large screen. Arleen felt a stab of guild as her curiosity forced her to lock onto a scar, running from beneath his left eye to his jaw-line. Her Dad had sat her down when she was younger and explained what he did for a job and the dangers that came with being a Turk. People in school had talked about how bad the Turks were, she'd tried to ask her Mom about it, but she had only agreed with the stories.

"Looking for you Dad?"

Arleen blinked dumbly as a male voice interrupted her thoughts. She looked around until she noticed a guy at one of the closer desks smiling at her. She waited until another few Turks passed, then walked to the desk; he had spiky brown hair and a solid frame, despite his intimidating physique, his smile was kind. He reminded her a little of Rude, minus the ear-piercings and sunglasses.

"Kinda ... I just wanted to explore a bit too. I'm Arleen."

"Rhys. Tell me, is Maddox still working in Costa del Sol?"

Confusion made its return as she eased herself onto the edge of the empty, adjacent desk. She wasn't sure why the Turk was asking about stuff in Costa del Sol, but figured it might have something to do with the company vacations. Arleen wracked her brain; she'd had several run-ins with the authorities in Costa del Sol, particularly when she'd been younger. Her school in Costa del Sol was a public school and there had always been a rivalry between it and the private school. The rivalry had existed long before she and her friends had enrolled, but they had all been dragged in regardless.

The friction between the two schools usually culminated in fights, which tended to be broken up by the city authorities. Also, a youth liaison officer had made acquainted himself with all of the youngsters in her boxing club. It wasn't regulation, but most liaison officers made sure to check in with the local clubs once or twice a month. Arleen shook her head as she looked back to Rhys.

"I'm not sure; the only Maddox I know is a youth liaison officer ... kinda got to know him better than others. How did you know about him?"

A smirk found its way to the Turk's face as he laid his pen down, spinning his chair around to face the teenager; she wasn't the only person who'd grown up in Costa del Sol, though the city had only been a resort town when he'd lived there. It had thrived following the fall of Deepground; people had finished rebuilding their lives and had sought the luxuries of vacations and resorts again. Despite the years that had passed since he'd moved away from the place, he still knew the ins and outs of the city pretty well.

"Are you on the public or private side? I was public, though that was a long time ago. I used to work with Maddox, I assume he's broken up his share of school clashes?"

Arleen blinked, genuinely taken aback by Rhys's revelation; she hadn't expected to run into someone so familiar with her home city. Any awkwardness or nervousness she had developed since stepping through the door had suddenly vanished as she eased herself down into an empty chair. She knew it sounded cliché, but this guy was from the same place as her, she felt she could relate to him.

* * *

"The decision has not been made yet, though the proposal is being considered."

Reno scanned the file before him. It outlined the latest proposal the Junon officials had put forward; a group of Turk candidates had been separated from the rest of their recruitment year. Their skills had been deemed more appropriate and better suited to the past department of SOLDIER. ShinRa was currently playing with the notion of resurrecting the past program.

The proposal didn't come without its hitches. SOLDIER had garnered a lot of bad press, partially due to Sephiroth's spectacular fall from grace, along with his subsequent attempts to punish the planet and his three little remnants. SOLDIER's name had been dragged through the mud and left there since Meteor. Deepground had done nothing to improve the opinions of the public. However, the idea of resurrecting the program was not one to be ignored either.

Rough outlines had already been drawn up for how the department would be organised and run; a director would be elected from the existing staff within the company. The candidates for the program would be put through similar training as the previous incarnation of SOLDIER, though allowances would be made due to the lack of Jenova Cells and exposure to mako. If resurrected, the program would work in alliance with the WRO. There was also the likely possibility that it would be run or co-run by Reeve.

Reno sighed as he leaned back into his chair; they'd been stuck in the meeting room for hours already and, by the looks of it, they would be here for hours to come. He hated paperwork. He hated evaluation, but above all, he hated meetings like this; he would have given his right arm to be sent out on a field mission instead.

He glanced around the office as he abandoned the file in his hands; all others in the room were intently listening to the President, their eyes glued to their own individual files and outlines. He'd read the file and outlines, he didn't have much of an opinion on the whole idea. If it was green-lighted, then fine. If not, then he was fine with that too.

He wanted to be in the Lounge or even in his office right now; anything would be a better option over this meeting. It didn't help that he could see everyone else outside of his glass-walled prison. Rod had been pulling faces through the glass when he'd passed earlier; Adel and Cissnei were now laughing over by one of the terminals at the far end of the room. Rhys was supposed to be writing up a months worth of mission reports, though it didn't look like he was getting much done; Arleen was swinging around on one of the swivel chairs, laughing at something the Turk had said.

* * *

_**A/N: Hope you liked, and thanks for taking the time to read :)**_

_**Last Revision - 18/05/11**_


	10. Reasons

**_A/N: Here's the next chapter :)_**

* * *

"So, what did Chase do before the Turks?"

"Struggled to take the silver spoon he was born with, out of his mouth."

"What about Rhys?"

"Detective in Costa del Sol…"

"And Takaya?"

"Used to live in Gongaga, killed some guys to save his friend, ended up in prison. Joined the Turks to get out of the place."

"Rod?"

"Lived on the plate, ran with some gangs. He tried to steal a motorbike from the ShinRa garage, failed but still got away. He joined the Turks to improve his skills."

"How about Cissnei?"

"Dunno, ShinRa recruited her when she was really young, none of us know much about her life before the Turks, don't think Cissnei even knows."

Reno smirked as he walked on ahead of his daughter. This was more like Arleen; questions, questions, and more questions. He hadn't been entirely sure how she would deal with Ryan and Toni's deaths, she hadn't come to him to speak about it, nor had she spoken about it to anybody else. He knew the correct thing to do would be to sit her down and ask her to speak to him about it. But he had no clue how to approach that kind of situation.

He had lost fellow Turks in the past, but none of them had been close friends. No one in the Turks' took losing a colleague lightly. He knew he would've taken losing Rude extremely different than ninety percent of the other Turks. He and Rude had been through a lot together, the man was one of his closest friends, he was the guy he could be serious with or confide in.

The nearest he had come to losing close friends had been when Kadaj and his brothers had taken and tortured Tseng and Elena. He and Rude hadn't bad time enough to worry back then. The had been trying to protect the President, guard the last of the Jenova Cells and aid Cloud as much as possible.

Maybe he should ask Tifa or Elena to speak to her? Or possibly Yuffie or Aiveen? Was he being too concerned, making a big deal out of nothing? He'd said it himself, Arleen was coming back around to her usual self. She had made friends already, thanks to Ross' forward nature. She'd spent most the day on the Turk's floor, getting to know more of his colleagues. She'd already been dragged out on a shopping trip with Yuffie and Aiveen. Surely if something was wrong, she knew she could tell him?

"Hello…anybody home?"

Arleen smiled as she clicked her fingers in front of her father's face, snapping his attention back to the present. She knew he'd been stuck in a meeting for most of the day, but she hadn't realised just how much he'd despised meetings. He'd been spacing out ever since he'd finished work.

It was probably not the best time to bring up this subject, but she'd wanted to ask him it all day. None of the other Turks had been aware of her existence, it seemed unlikely that any of them would know much about why her parents were now sworn enemies. The only person who'd have a chance of knowing would be Rude, but she hadn't seen him all day. Arleen glanced up as she slowed down, deciding to voice her question before they arrived at Seventh Heaven.

She needed to know why her parents couldn't stand each other. She had noticed it since she was young, but neither had ever been willing to give her an answer. It hadn't been so bad in Costa del Sol, Toni had been the only one with a traditional and functioning family. Ryan had only had his Mom and then her Dad had doubled as paternal influence on her and Ryan when needed. But it was different here in Edge. Each of the teenagers she now knew had both their parents and lived in the same house, with the exception of Declan. His Mom had died though. Both her parents were alive and enjoyed riling each other up.

"Um … can I ask you something? I might be kinda personal."

Reno ground to a half as he turned slowly to face his daughter. Maybe she did need to speak to someone about the crash after all? He glanced around, looking for a place to sit. They were close to Seventh Heaven, but if they kept walking, they would forfeit privacy. He doubted Arleen would enjoy asking anything with Ross and Robbie killing each other in the background, and he certainly wasn't up for answering anything that might be personal with Aiveen in the same room, he liked the girl, but he was aware of her eavesdropping skills. Reno waited until an elderly couple had passed by before walking towards a garden wall in front of one of the houses. He gestured for Arleen to follow him as he sat on the wall. He smiled lightly and he leaned his back against the pier, resting one of his legs on the wall between himself and Arleen.

"Ask me anything you want, Arly."

Arleen eased herself up onto the wall, cringing as a dull ache ran along her ribs. She still wasn't entirely sure how to bring up this subject. Whenever she had asked her mother, she had been told to drop it. While anytime she had mentioned it to her father, he'd laughed it off or changed the subject. But she needed to know. Arleen stared at the pavement as she voiced her query.

"You and Mom … why do you hate each other so much?"

He hadn't expected that question. He was suddenly regretting not having the two cursing blonds as a diversion. Half of him was pleased Arleen wasn't feeling the need to speak about the crash, but the other half of him was disappointed. At least he could answer questions about the crash truthfully, or at least to the best of his knowledge. He and Kelly were an awkward subject to explain or even try to comprehend. He wasn't even sure about where things had gone wrong. Arleen was entitled to an answer, but how did he give a truthful one when he didn't even know. Reno groaned and ran his hand through his hair, looking up to meet his daughter's mirroring eyes.

"Look Arly, it's not that I hate your Mom, it's just…okay, say she was on fire?"

Arleen nodded, ignoring the disturbing knowledge that her father had no qualms with picturing her mother in such a situation.

"And I was standing there with a bottle of water?"

Again, the seventeen-year-old nodded her head.

"I'd drink it."

And there went the serious answer. Arleen shook her head in frustration as she shifted on the wall, staring her Dad down as he waited for her to smile; giving the opportunity to change the subject again. He always did that when it came to personal stuff, she usually just let it go, but she was adamant to get an answer this time.

"Dad, I'm serious. I want a truthful answer."

"That was a truthful ans-"

"You do this every time."

Reno groaned as guilt crept over him. He knew he always switched the subject, but he only did so because he had never actually sat down and thought about it. He had not proper answer for what she was asking. He hadn't been lying. He'd meant every word of his explanation. Of course, he'd never admit that to a figure of authority, or anyone who could use it against him. He'd probably admit it to Kelly's face though, and take pleasure in doing so. Kelly had pressed every single one of his buttons through the years, purposely making decisions against him. She had done everything in her power to keep him away from Arleen and to try and make him lose his job. Reno sighed and looked back to his daughter, she did deserve a fair answer. One that wasn't biased with his own personal feelings.

"I don't hate her Arly, or at least it didn't start out that way. Your Mom and I got together after I helped her little brother out of a tight spot. Anthony and I hung out a lot after I helped him, so we got to know each other pretty well. Stuff went wrong after sector seven went down. Your Mom found out I was the Turk who collapsed the sector a few years after Deepground. We broke up. She told me she was pregnant and told me to stay the away…"

Arleen frowned as she scratched the side of her head, holding her father's gaze. Why had he thrown Anthony's name in there? From what he'd just said, it sounded like Anthony was her Mom's little brother, but that wasn't possible. Surely Anthony would have told her? Anthony had been working in Costa del Sol since she'd started fifth year. She'd known him with two years, he'd been one of the only teachers she'd respected and willingly worked for. He had been the only person apart from Ryan and Toni she had confided in about Chris.

Was that why he'd bothered to ask? Arleen's furrowed her brows as she thought back over all the times Anthony had saved her from detentions and defended her against other faculty members. He had pulled her aside and asked about who had been causing the bruises and had cared enough to bring her to the hospital. Had he only acted the way he did because of who her Mom was? She wanted to be angry that he had never told her, but she was also grateful that he'd looked out for her.

"Anthony's my uncle?"

Reno cringed as he registered the surprised tone of his daughter, this was why he always switched subjects when it turned to personal stuff, he usually let something slip which he hadn't meant to. Although he had actually intended to tell Arleen about her connection to Anthony, it had simply slipped his mind. He'd meant to explain it to her a few days ago, but he'd forgot. Technically it wasn't his fault, Kelly had never told Arleen she'd had an uncle and Anthony had never enlightened her either, so it wasn't exactly all his fault. Reno nodded slowly as he spoke once more, now aware that any attempt at changing the subject was near impossible.

"Yeah…I did mean to explain this a couple of days ago. Anthony and your Mom are brother and sister. Their parents divorced a year or two before I joined the Turks. Kelly moved away with her Mom to wherever and Anthony stayed in the slums with his Dad. Your Mom started going by her mother's maiden name when she moved away."

This morning she'd only had her Dad, Rude and her Mom, although the last wasn't by choice and not someone she would be calling in an emergency. Now she apparently had an uncle and a set of grandparents. Her Dad had never mentioned any of his parents and she'd never thought to ask either of her parents about other relatives, but now she felt stupid for not bothering. Arleen frowned and rubbed the side of her head as confusion crept back over her. She shifted so that she could fully face her Dad, dangling a leg over either side wall and praying that there wasn't a dog in the front garden of the house.

"Okay, so now I have an uncle and grandparents?

That wasn't quite how he'd hoped the conversation would go. She had grandparents, but none on this side of the Lifestream, none that he knew of anyway, his mother and father might still be alive somewhere, but he wasn't in a rush to find out or introduce them to Arleen. He hadn't known his father, and his mother had hardly been worthy of calling herself a Mom. If she was actually still alive, then he definitely didn't want the likes of her coming along and dragging Arleen down with her.

The reason that she had no grandparents was also the answer for her first question. It wasn't something he was proud of, but it was something he had to live with. The collapse of Sector Seven always managed to find its way back into his life every so often. And while he didn't mean to demean the whole thing, he could do without its constant shadow on his past. Reno looked at his daughter for a silent moment, weighing up his options; Kelly had freaked when he'd told her he was responsible for the collapse. Arleen knew it had been an order and he had acted upon it, but she didn't fully realise the true extent of what he'd done all those years ago.

"No, you don't have any grandparents, Arly. I wouldn't know my own father if he walked into the ShinRa building in the morning and said hi. I haven't seen my mother since I joined the Turks. She was probably in the slums when the plate came down. Anthony and your Mom's parents were in the Sector Seven slums when the order was given to collapse the plate. Your Mom's mother had gone back to collect some belongings or to visit or something. I assume Anthony had been in University. Very few people got out of that sector with their lives."

Arleen blinked as realization sunk in slowly. Aiveen had mentioned something about Denzel's biological parents when she'd been explaining who everyone was. She'd said they'd died when Sector Seven collapsed. His parents and her maternal grandparents had been killed by an order her Dad had carried out. She'd always known that the Turks was a dangerous profession, but she had never wasted much time thinking about what the missions involved and what they could cause. Arleen frowned as she spoke hesitantly, not sure if it was something her Dad wanted to talk about or not.

"Denzel's parents died in the collapse. Aiveen told me. Does…does he hold it against you?"

Reno shook his head slowly. No, Denzel didn't. He had known Denzel since he was a kid. He had taken him aside when he'd been a teenager and explained about the collapse. The Turk had expected for the then-teenager to hate him because of it. He had spent enough sleepless nights wondering how it might change things if the youngster had known. But Denzel had nodded and thanked him for explaining.

"No. I told him myself. I asked him if it changed things, he said no; the past couldn't be fixed, so there was no point dwelling on it."

"But Mom didn't think that?"

He shook his head again, idly playing with the earring in his left ear as he thought back. Kelly certainly hadn't had the same forgiving and open minded approach Denzel'd had. She'd been the complete opposite. He'd met her again a few years after Deepground had been defeated. ShinRa had started recruiting employees again and running missions. He and Rude had been issued a staff vacation at ShinRa's villa in Costa del Sol. He had randomly bumped into Kelly in one of the bars there and they'd started reminiscing about when they'd been in the slums. One thing had led to another and he'd ended up going to see her on a regular basis again.

A couple of months after they'd re-started their relationship, they'd been talking about what had happened after they'd parted. He'd explained about the Turks and Meteor, leaving out what he'd classed as the minor detail of the Sector Seven collapse. Then Kelly had told him about how her parents had been killed during the collapse.

He'd spent weeks agonising over whether to come clean about the collapse or let Kelly continue to curse some anonymous Turk. When he eventually told her how he'd been responsible for the order, Kelly hadn't taken it well. Only his quick reflexes had saved Reno from several thrown objects, that same night she'd told them they were finished and she was pregnant. She'd told him to go back to ShinRa and not to come back again.

"Nah…she was the total opposite to Denzel. She threw stuff, cried, hit me, screamed, cursed …ended with us breaking up. Then she said she was pregnant, told me to run back to ShinRa and stay there."

Reno pushed himself off the wall as he finished speaking. He and Kelly used to be really good together, but she'd hurt him worse than any other girl. She was the reason he didn't let many get close and she was the reason behind a lot of his personal decisions. They would never see eye to eye again and they would never forgive each other, he was content with that fact. But he wasn't about to drag Arleen into the middle of their feud. Kelly had been the one try that with her custody agreements.

"Arly, the only reason me and your Mom currently hate each other, is because we're both too pigheaded to let the past go. It has nothing to do with you, okay?"

Reno smirked as he helped Arleen off the wall, he could already hear shouts emanating from Seventh Heaven and was willing to bet they were aimed for a certain blond.

* * *

"No hun, look again. You forgot the x, you have to multiply in with the 2x, not just the 2."

Arleen hid a laugh as Mai blinked at her copybook before groaning and resting her head on the counter of the bar, that was the third time the younger girl had made a mistake. Arleen reckoned she had almost lost the will to bother. Ross had been trying to his younger sister with her math homework when Arleen and her Dad had walked into the bar. Ross had still had a lot of chemistry homework to finish so she'd offered to help Mai.

She had been in Edge long enough to know that Seventh Heaven not only served as everyone's unofficial meeting place, but homework club also. Her Dad had explained that it was easier to keep tabs on the teenagers doing their school work if they were all in the bar. Most their parents finished work late, so the teenagers either went to Seventh Heaven or ShinRa after school.

"I'm never going to get this…"

Arleen smiled as she stood from her stool and leaned against the bar. This was why she was glad she hadn't done fourth year in Costa del Sol. Fourth year was also known as Transition Year. Some secondary schools had it as an optional year between third and fifth year, while others had it as a compulsory year and some schools didn't have it at all. It had been an optional year in Costa del Sol, and an extra year of pain in her eyes.

Why would any teenager want to willingly put themselves through an extra year of school. Transition year was almost like a half year, much of the year was made up from work experiences and projects, but none of these would benefit the person in the Leaving Cert, which was the major test they did at the end of sixth year, the amount of points they got in the Leaving Cert decided what University courses they could apply for. Arleen had chosen not to do fourth year, while it was a compulsory year in Edge. That's why Aiveen and the others were older than her, although she'd be going into their class in sixth year, they had all turned eighteen already, she wouldn't be turning eighteen for a few more months.

"I'll take over, if you want?"

Arleen jolted herself from her thoughts; Denzel was standing in front of her, he nodded his head towards the group of older teenagers, his usual smile on his face. She hadn't really spoken to him much since moving to Edge, but knowing how easily he had forgiven her Dad and refused to make an difficult situation out of the past had made her realise how much she now respected the young man. He could have turned around and reacted the same as her mother, but he'd chosen to move on with his life.

"Thanks, Denzel."

Denzel nodded and slid onto the stool beside his younger sister, giving her an exaggerated frown as she venomously scribbled out one of her math problems. He turned back and winked at Arleen as she started to walk away.

"Hey Arly, Zangan says to come by the club when you get a chance, Cath quit a few weeks after the tournament at your old club, so he's kinda eager to get a girl back under the club … I'm going back training Wednesday if you don't want to go alone?"

Arleen frowned, half of her wanted to go back training, but half of her didn't. Anytime she thought about it, Chris popped into her head. She like boxing, and hated that even now, in Edge, Chris could still upset her thoughts. She wanted to get back training and wave it in his face, prove that she didn't need him or his gym to compete. But she also had the issue of switching her boxing licence to a new club, which Chris would have to hand over, she didn't think he'd be all too impressed with having to do so.

On top of all that, she still had a cast on her left arm, and would for another four or five weeks, even after that she'd still have to be careful not to stress it in case she re-injured it and her ribs were still sore. The most she could do for training right now would be running and skipping, maybe pad-work and bag-work with her right arm, but even at that she hadn't been training in ages, she wouldn't be able to keep up with any of the guys there. The only people she knew at that club were Denzel and Matt, and they both seemed in better shape than her.

"Um, I'm not sure, Denzel. I can't really spar until I get this off my arm, and I haven't been training in ages, I'll get totally left behind."

Denzel cast a gaze over his younger sister's copy, he rolled his eyes as he spotted another error. Mai was smart, she just lacked an attention span for homework, her homework started out excellent, and then quickly managed to slide down the scale to atrocious by the time she was finished. That's why he'd offered to take over from Arleen, at least if he was sitting here, Mai would know she had to do it properly, he wouldn't fall for her tricks. Denzel shook his head he put a hand on the copybook and tore out the page his younger sister had been working on.

"Hey!"

"They're all wrong, or most of them at least. C'mon, it's either I do this or wait until Mom sees your copy."

Denzel shook his head, smiling despite himself as Mai frowned and turned back a page in her maths book, starting from the beginning once more. She would eventually get her homework done in one go, someday. He cast another glance over Mai's shoulder at her copy before turning back to face Arleen.

"You're talking to the guy who hasn't shown his face in about two years. Trust me, if anyone's going to be bent over heaving for breath, it'll be me."

"Yeah right, don't listen to him Arly. He's only saying that to throw us all off guard, have you seen how fast he can run when he's chasing Cait Sith?"

Yet he still hadn't been able to catch the annoying little cat. Denzel grimaced as he thought about his last chase through the ShinRa building, a while hour and the fur-ball had still evaded him. He'd ended up going and begging for Yuffie's help. Denzel spun on his stool and stuck his tongue out at Matt. He was the only other person who had caught Cait Sith to date, the young man took a second to check his pocket for his phone before continuing.

"Still haven't caught the little fucker though. I'm trying to get Arly to come to the club on Wednesday, a little help with the persuasion?"

Matt shrugged as he binned the empty bottles he and the others had accumulated, he seriously hoped Tifa never decided to start charging them for drinks, he'd be broke in a week. He didn't really see the fun in making Arleen go if she didn't want to go. If she was interested, then she'd go, if not then that was fine too.

Truthfully, he wasn't exactly delighted that Denzel was going back either, he had nothing against the young man, but he was the nearest to his weight. They had been sparring partners when he'd been at the club and the guy didn't hold anything back in sparring. Matt had lost count of how many times he'd gone home with a swollen nose or a black eye from Denzel, Zangan's advice; don't get hit.

That was easier said than done though. He did want Arleen to transfer to their club though, and not just because Zangan wanted her to. Matt took a breath to answer, but bent down to pick up one of the bottles he'd dropped before it rolled under one of the fridges, speaking from where he knelt on the ground with one arm groping around beneath the appliance, he prayed Tifa didn't put mouse-traps beneath the fridges.

"It's up to you Arly, it'd be cool if you did come by, but if you don't want to, no big deal. Look, put it this way, if you do decide to drop by then I'll stick with you for the run and stuff, I promise you won't get left behind the gang."

"He's also single if you're interested…"

Matt's eyes shot wide as he caught onto Denzel's innuendo, this is why he annoyed him at times, the young man was an older version of Ross, but with a little bit more common sense. Matt gave up on his fruitless search for the dropped bottle and made to stand up, only to collide with one of the beer-taps on the way up, sending him sprawling backwards.

"Oww, might want to watch yourself there…"

Arleen hid a laugh behind her hand as Denzel bent over the counter of the bar, continuing to taunt the injured Matt, who now sat on his butt rubbing the top of his head. He was going to have one hell of a headache after that collision, she had cringed just watching. It was still kind of ironic from where she sat, they'd been speaking about boxing training and he had just got his butt handed to him by a stationary beer-tap. She doubted his coach would be impressed with the explanation of the bump on his head. Arleen smiled innocently as she leaned up on the counter alongside Denzel, taking another moment to watch Matt nurse his head whilst splitting his glare between the beer-tap and the grinning Denzel.

"I think I might go…somebody's going to have to tell your coach how you got beat up by a beer-tap."

* * *

**_A/N: Hope you liked it, thanks for reading! :)_**


	11. Training

_** Hi guys, kinda a long chapter for you :)**_

* * *

"Matt, get up off your butt and get started."

Matt glanced up from where he sat on the bench, winding wraps around his hands. Zangan thought he was being lazy, he wasn't. He had promised Arleen he would wait for her. He had already had a hard enough time trying to explain the large bump on the back of his head, compliments of Tifa's bar-tap, though Denzel's input had painted a rather clear picture for Zangan; claiming he had been too busy chatting to Arleen to pay attention. Needless to say, Matt hadn't been all too impressed with Denzel's account; it had been the young man's smart mouth that had caused the painful collision to start with.

"I'm hanging on for Arleen - get Denzel to keep an eye on the younger ones."

"Nu-uh."

The aged mentor sighed as he looked between the duo; it was good to see Denzel back, just a pity Tifa hadn't kicked the young man back training sooner. He had been sitting at home, falling head-over-heels for his girlfriend instead of putting hard work into his training, as Matt had. It seemed fitting that he should have the dirty job of babysitting tonight. However, if Matt made a habit out of sitting around waiting for a girl, the task would be switched to him.

Zangan wanted at least one of them with Reno's daughter; he had seen the news report on the accident in Costa del Sol. However, while he had recognised the girl's name as one of Chris's fighters, he would have never guessed about her connection to Reno. While he had known her name, weight class and her wins and losses, Zangan had never seen a proper picture of the teenager, or seen her face to face. Whenever the two clubs had clashed, the clubs' members had been hidden behind headgear and gum-shields.

Tifa had filled him in on Reno's relationship with the girl in the days following the crash, after he had questioned the Turk's sudden disappearance. While Matt had been the one to inform him of what injuries, the seventeen-year-old had sustained in the crash; it had saddened him to hear about her two friends. He didn't know the girl, but no one deserved to go through something like that, especially not a teenager.

"Okay, they're yours for tonight Denzel, but just get a move on - the two of you."

The eighteen-year-old winked as Denzel shot him a serious glare; one of the older members always got roped into keeping an eye on the younger kids. It was the job they all tried to avoid - the younger members of the club ranged in ages from nine up to around fifteen, no one wanted to be responsible for a group of easily distracted kids.

"Oh, just coz you want to be all _knight-in-shinning-armour_ … let's see how brave you when I tell Reno you were chatting his daughter up all night."

Matt grabbed one of the half-empty water bottles from the window ledge, taking aim at Denzel as he herded the youngsters out the door; the scary thing was, Denzel would actually turn around and say that to Reno. It didn't matter if it was true or not, he would say it just to torment people; the last thing Matt needed was to see how protective Reno could be.

They were all still getting their heads around the idea of the Turk having a daughter. He claimed he had kept the knowledge of her existence to himself and Rude, solely because he hadn't wanted any of his past actions to come back and bite him in the butt; hurting her to get at him. Matt did not want to see just how protective the Turk could be.

"Someone lose their water?"

Arleen looked around the small building as she stooped to pick up a water bottle. It was a lot smaller than the gym she was used to, in Costa del Sol. Then again, Chris had owned a string of gyms in the city and several in other places; Gil was something the man had never been short of. The main gym in Costa del Sol had doubled as the city's boxing club; they'd had the luxury of having all the top of the range gear and equipment at their disposal. With qualified coaches, who had never set foot into a boxing ring in their lives.

Edge's boxing club was much smaller; a small ring occupied on end of the hall itself; a long window with frosted glass ran the length of the hall, with a radiator and bench below its ledge; a large wooden press stood opposite the window, which she could only assume hid the equipment; several boxing bags hung from brackets, at intervals, along both sides of the hall; a clock stared down from the near wall, its face cracked from several falls, with several framed pictures adorning the rest of the wall.

Zangan cast a quick glance over the teenager who had just walked into the club; no doubt, as to who her father was. Her vivid red hair was slung back in a rough bun, her bright blue eyes staring at the framed pictures. A slight smirk spread across his lips as he noticed the club name emblazoned on the back of her navy tracksuit jacket; Costa del Sol Boxing Club. They had nowhere near the same level of funding and equipment as that club, but it didn't stop Zangan's club from turning out champions.

"Bit smaller than what you're used to, huh?"

Arleen nodded slowly as she traced one of the frames with her fingers, reading the printed words under the picture; the image was from a newspaper, it showed several youngsters holding medals with smiling coaches behind them; Matt and Denzel were amongst the youngsters

"Bit more personal than Costa del Sol … oh, I'm sorry - I'm Arleen, Matt and Denzel said it'd be okay if I came alo-"

"I know … I have two questions: firstly, does your old gym still have your boxing book? And secondly, would you prefer to ask for it, or shall I?"

Arleen faltered at Zangan's queries; he was direct and to the point at least. She hadn't even stopped to think about her boxing book. All registered boxers, even amateurs had a book, it was basically their licence; it stated their date of birth, what gym they trained under, their usual weight division, an I.D. picture, a signed medical cert, insurance details and it kept track of all their fights … it was also usually in the possession of their coach.

Chris had her book. She hadn't gone training for weeks prior to the crash, something he hadn't been very pleased about. She highly doubted he would willingly hand it back to her, not when she was switching to a rival club.

"Chris has it … I don't think he'll give it to me though, or you."

"Why not?"

"Umm, he's not exactly a nice guy. This is a rival club, he's going to do all he can to make sure he keeps a hold on my book … if he has it, I won't be covered by insurance here and I can only fight under his gym."

She understood how the books worked at least, that was more than he could say for the majority of the boys in Edge. Generally, Zangan hounded them until they got all the necessary requirements for their books, and then he kept a hold on them. If they were left with the guys, they'd probably lose them. But everything Arleen had said was correct, without her book she couldn't do anything except train … not that he expected her to do anything but that for a couple of weeks, months even; he had wanted either Matt or Denzel with her, to make sure she was okay.

"If push comes to shove, I can go above his head and apply for a dual membership … either way, I'll sort it out. For now, I want you to stick with Matt, and just take it easy. If you need a breather or you're not up to it, then stop, okay?"

Arleen smiled as she nodded, tearing her gaze away from the framed photos as she walked over to where Matt was sitting. She dropped her gear-bag and kicked it under the bench, handing the half-empty bottle of water back to him. Denzel had passed her outside, with a throng noisy kids, she assumed they were younger members of the club. He had been only too happy to announce that Matt was holding a vigil inside for her … whatever preconceptions Arleen had held about Denzel being a quiet and mannerly young-man had been violently shattered in the last couple of days, he was exactly like Ross; they both loved to stir trouble and make smart comments.

"Denzel says to tell you, you need to improve your aim."

"Denzel needs to keep his mouth shut."

Matt shook his head as he registered his own childish tone; Denzel wasn't even in the hall anymore and he was still getting to him. The eighteen-year-old rolled his eyes as he stretched. He pulled a hoody on over his head as he nodded towards the open door.

"You ready?"

* * *

"You're here late."

Reno glanced up as he finished descending the stairs of the lobby. He smirked at Tseng's surprised tone. Everyone else, who wasn't on the night shift, had left hours ago. Usually, he'd be long gone by now, but he had started a mission report to distract himself and had decided to actually finish it for once. Kelly had called him earlier … she wanted to switch their custody agreement around, but she wanted it her way. Whereas he had been forced to travel to Costa del Sol to see his daughter, Kelly wanted Arleen to stay there for one weekend each month.

She was only doing it to piss him off, Reno knew that. However, he couldn't exactly say no. Kelly had threatened to take the matter to her lawyers if he didn't comply, he wasn't one to bend to her will so easily, but he didn't want lawyers and hearings involved. Besides, if Kelly brought up his last visit to her house, Reno was sure no lawyer would side with him. In hindsight, that hadn't been his brightest of moments.

"Yeah, here early lately, and here last too."

"I am going to assume this has something to do with that phone-call you received earlier?"

That was twice Tseng had managed to read him like a book, since he'd arrived back in Edge with Arleen. Reno had no clue why his superior's analytical skills still surprised him. He had been one of the youngest people ever enlisted in the Turks; Tseng had always been his superior. Even when Veld had been their commander, Tseng had been the one to try and keep him in check. The man knew him better than he knew himself, yet he was only realising that lately.

Reno rolled his eyes and sighed as he pushed the door outwards; Kelly was one of the worst mistakes of his life, one that just refused to go away and stay away.

"The Wicked Witch called."

"Wicked Witch?"

"It's what Toni and Ryan dubbed Kelly - she wants to reverse our custody agreement. If I say no, she's gonna go crying to her lawyer."

Toni and Ryan, those two kids had been killed in the crash. Reno hadn't mentioned much about his ex-partner, but that hadn't stopped Tseng from looking into the woman's background, after all, administrative research was his department.

From what he had managed to dig up, Kelly had grown up in the sector seven slums, there were only minor offences listed in her past, such as trying to enter the upper plate without valid identification. She had moved to Costa del Sol with her mother following the split of her parents. Both of her parents had been killed in the Sector Seven collapse; her mother had returned to finalise her divorce.

Tseng had pulled in some connections, getting Rhys to contact his past colleagues in Costa del Sol to pull up any of Kelly's details; her change of surname, listed address, bank statements, Arleen's birth certificate.

He had never had reason to look into Reno's personal business before, but the Turk's sudden revelation of Arleen, along with her domestic situation had prompted him to delve deeper. He had even cast a glance over Kelly's fiancé; the man had moved in with Kelly around three years ago, proposing to her a year ago. He had started up several gyms within Costa del Sol, thanks to the money he had earned in his successful career as a boxer.

"You don't want lawyers involved?"

With his track record, the lawyers would have an absolute field day; sporadic missions, an occupation that many still feared, his past actions and the fact that he had literally barged his way into Kelly's house and assaulted her fiancé … somehow, Reno doubted the powers-that-be would side with him. It was times like these he wished things were as they had been in Midgar, when ShinRa had been the only authority worth worrying about.

"When I found out that Chris had hurt her, I went to Kelly's. I grabbed some of Arleen's stuff, we had an argument, things got heated and I hit the guy. If she gets her lawyers involved, that's going to work against me, isn't it?"

Tseng nodded slowly, silently glad that Reno was genuinely thinking this through, he understood that what he had done could have consequences that would work against him. It had taken Arleen living with him, for the Turk to realise something Tseng had been trying to drill into his head for years; actions have repercussions. Reno's past actions and possible offences were strictly off-limit to anyone and everyone, apart from himself and the President. As were those of all the other Turks and ShinRa personnel. It was something that greatly irked the authorities and other large companies, but ShinRa had played a pivotal role in rebuilding Edge and re-establishing structure in a world almost decimated by Meteor. They had accepted their role in the disaster and had worked tirelessly to atone for it since. They had every right to classify the files of their personnel … and if someone had a problem with it that was just too bad.

"Any missions you have completed or taken part in are strictly classified; no lawyer can access them. However, I highly doubt a judge would be pleased with knowing there were certain aspects of your past that he cannot view, on that alone he may be biased against you and your case."

"In other words, play along with the Wicked Witch's plan?"

"I am afraid so."

Reno sighed as he continued walking alongside his superior; Kelly always won. Regardless of how hard he tried to better the woman, she always came out on top. It frustrated him, he could tear her life apart if he wanted to, but the bitch always managed to play the victim card. He had played his role in the destruction of Sector Seven; he had killed countless people, including her parents. But how come Denzel could accept that, and not Kelly? What about Anthony? He hadn't said anything when they'd spoken, maybe he didn't even know.

It seemed that Sector Seven would be one part of his past Reno could never forget or escape. It had been an order; if he hadn't carried it out, someone else would have. One way or another, the sector wouldn't have survived that day. He laughed it off, ignored its importance and listed it amongst his countless other completed missions, but he wasn't as heartless as he would have liked to be. He could still hear the screeching of metal twisting and snapping, the cries of people as they realised what was happening … but it wasn't something he could change.

How was he supposed to tell Arleen that he was sending her back to an uncaring mother, and her dickhead of a fiancé? He had promised her that he wouldn't let Chris hurt her again, he had taken her away from Costa del Sol to protect her, and now he had to turn around and bend to Kelly's rules again.

"How can I send her back there, when I know she'll get hurt?"

As far as Tseng could see, he didn't have much of a choice in the matter, and no concrete proof that Arleen would be harmed. If he abided by his ex's request, he would retain custody of their daughter, if not then he would end up back at square one, or possibly land himself with a worse custody agreement than they'd already had. He understood Reno's hesitation; Tseng would not be happy sending Jared into a situation where he had a chance of getting hurt, but the Turk was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

"You don't have a choice, Reno. Abide by her rules for now. If something does happen, then you can disregard her terms."

* * *

It really had been a while since she'd bothered doing any kind of exercise, though her ribs ached with every step, Arleen found herself enjoying the slow jog; Chris might have forced her to train, but he hadn't counted on her actually enjoying the sport and all it entailed. Matt was a few paces ahead of her, she knew he was going purposely slow for her sake, judging by all the photos on the wall of Zangan's club, Matt was their top fighter; she doubted he took his training half-heartedly.

Not that she had in Costa del Sol, she and Reagan had been the main medal-winners of their generation at Chris's club. There were a few younger and older people who brought home prizes, but the younger ones were too young to push training on, while the older ones had missed their chance at a career; that left the middle age group to focus on. Reagan had been her training partner; most clubs worked on a buddy system. They had done all their training together, it ensured that no one went missing during the warm-up run, and kept them focussed on training by competing between themselves.

She wondered who Chris had lumped Reagan with now that she was gone. The lad had spent most of his time slacking off and ignoring Chris's orders, something that had amused her to no end. He had spent most of his spare time at home training, and then slacked off when he went to the club, just to get a rise out of people. Something told her Reagan wouldn't get away with it if he trained under Zangan. Arleen snapped out of her daze as the sound of an engine met her ears, she stopped still as her vision was blinded by bright headlights … her head told her to run, but her legs were frozen in place as her mind replayed the crash in Costa del Sol.

"Arleen - **_move__!_**"

Strong arms closed around her waist, lifting her from the ground and swinging her away in the opposite direction; tyres screeched to a halt as a car door opened and someone began to shout.

"What the hell are you playing at?"

Matt kept his arms wrapped around Arleen's waist, her nails digging into his forearms. She was shaking like a leaf; he knew if he let her go, she would sink to the ground. The eighteen-year-old looked back over his shoulder as the angered driver continued to curse them and demand an answer.

"It's a pedestrian crossing - you're **_supposed_** to stop, not speed up jackass!"

The driver evidently thought better of the argument as he reluctantly slipped back into his car, but Matt noticed the slower speed at which he took off. He wasn't dumb enough to lead Arleen across a road in Edge; there were too many vehicles and motorcycles to gamble a sprint across the city's busy roads, even at night. Everyone at the club knew that, they stuck to crossings or pedestrian areas for their runs.

Matt turned his attention back to Arleen as the car's tail-lights disappeared from view. He guided her over to the opposite side of the road, carefully removing his arms from around her waist, ready to catch her if her shaking legs gave way.

"You okay?"

Why hadn't Toni put her seatbelt on? It had only been a measly five Gil, she should have known better. She'd gotten her Gil back, why hadn't she put the belt on then? Why hadn't Ryan just given her the Gil, if he had then she wouldn't have spent most of the ride home searching for it. She would have put her belt on. She wouldn't have slammed into Ryan's seat … why hadn't Arleen told her put on her belt, she'd known better. If she'd told her friend to put it on, she'd be alive now.

Why hadn't she walked home, if she'd walked home, Ryan wouldn't have had to go on that road, he wouldn't have skidded, he couldn't have crashed into the lorry … they'd both still be alive if she had walked home. She had been too lazy to walk home, too lazy and too preoccupied with getting wet. She had chosen to stay dry over the safety of her friends, and yet she was the one who had lived. Why hadn't she been killed, it would have made things a lot easier on a lot of people … she was the complicated one, she was the troublesome one, she was the damaged one - why did they have to die?

"Arleen?"

His eyes were green, like Chris's, but his were full of concern and warm. Not like Chris's. The words fell from her lips before she could stop them or understand why she wanted to drag Matt into her complicated life.

"They're dead … and it's _**my**_ fault."

Her eyes were wide and her face was pale, it only took him a moment to realise why she was so spooked and what she was rambling about; the crash in Costa del Sol. That was why she had frozen instead of trying to avoid the car. Matt shook his head as he spoke quietly, already feeling the guilt wash over him; it had been his bright idea to rope Arleen into coming to the club, and now she was frightened and upset.

"It was an accident … it wasn't your fault."

She took a breath to argue, but her words wouldn't come out, a painful lump in her throat cut them off. She tried to blink away the tears, but they streaked down her cheeks all the same. She didn't want to cry in front of Matt, this had nothing to do with him. He had been nothing but friendly and helpful since she'd moved to Edge, she didn't want to make him feel weird or put him in an awkward situation.

Arleen tried to stop shaking, but it was no good, the tears rolled down her cheeks as she gave up fighting against the pain in her chest; why hadn't she been killed like her friends, they'd done nothing wrong. Why had she gotten to live when they'd been taken away?

As the girl in front of him broke down in tears, Matt did the only thing that seemed to make sense; he wrapped his arms around her shaking frame and tucked her head beneath his chin as she cried into his chest. He'd never stopped to think about just how much she'd been through … how would he cope in her place? If Toni and Ryan had been Aiveen and Ross … he didn't want to think about it.

* * *

"Is Arleen at the bar?"

Reno shook his head at Tseng's question both turning the corner towards the entrance to Seventh Heaven. Arleen was off at the boxing club, with a warning to take things easy, but she was going to walk back to the bar with Denzel and Matt after training. He'd explain about her Mom's bright idea then. The longer he put it off, the worse it would be. She'd be angry with him. She'd be upset too, that was the part he hated. He could deal with a pissed off teenager quite effectively, he'd had years of experience with everyone else's kids. But and upset teenager wasn't so easy to handle.

"No, she went training with Matt and Denz -"

Reno trailed off as his eyes locked onto Denzel sitting at the counter of the bar, Rayna on the stool beside him. The Turk glanced around the bar, doing a quick head count of the teenagers in the corner; there were two missing. He turned his attention back to the young man grinning at the bar.

"Where're Arly and Matt?"

Denzel shrugged, he didn't have a clue. They'd never gotten back to the hall after the run, Matt had text him and asked him to grab his and Arleen's gear-bags and bring them back to Seventh Heaven. Personally, Denzel had his own notions of what the two had gotten up to. Was it wrong for him to share his suspicions with Reno? After all, he was just being a concerned observer in all of this.

"Beats me, though I do think he has the hots for your daughter."

Reno turned on his heels, making to go back out the door of the bar in search of his daughter, but stopped as an arm caught his elbow. He looked back; raising an eyebrow as he realised Tseng was the person who had stopped him.

"Don't be that type of father; she won't tell you a single thing. Allow her to make her own decisions and she'll ask for your advice."

The last thing he needed was Arleen coming home crying pregnancy - Kelly would actually die of laughter if she did, but not before she made him suffer for it. She was only seventeen, but he wasn't blind to the ways of the world. Matt was eighteen, a young man. His parents had brought him up to know how to handle things, but Reno knew what a guy his age was after, and it wasn't to hold hands.

Arleen trusted him. He'd always thought she could tell him anything, but that notion had been shattered with Anthony's revelation of what Chris had been doing to her. He didn't want her to start hiding other things from him … maybe Tseng was right? He knew more about being a father than he did. After all, the man had been keeping him in line since he'd joined the Turks. He was only realising it now, but Tseng had been the only paternal influence in Reno's life. Out of everyone's advice, he trusted Tseng's the most. Reno nodded slightly as he took his hand away from the door, allowing it to swing shut.

* * *

"M-Matt, I'm sorry … I didn't mean to st-"

"Don't apologise, Arleen, it's fine … seriously."

Arleen forced a smile as Matt wrapped his arm around her shoulder, making her look up from the pavement below. How had she managed to fall in with such a nice group of people … she had literally frozen in front of an oncoming car, making him put himself in danger, then had a breakdown right in front of him. Matt had just stood there, hugging her while she'd cried into his chest. He'd been so nice to her, he'd only known her for a little more than a week, and he acted as if they'd known each other for years.

"Thanks … but, is Zangan going to be angry at you for skipping out on training?"

Matt shook his head, not when he told him what had happened. Zangan was harsh, but he was a good man, with a soft heart really. He used to be one of the best martial arts trainers in all of Gaia, he'd even trained Tifa. But he had been injured when Sephiroth destroyed Nibelheim, making it near impossible for him to fight like he once had. He'd travelled around Gaia for years after that, before settling in Edge. He used his knowledge to train the younger generation now. Matt had a lot of respect for the man, he'd known him most of his life. It had been Zangan to convince his Mom to let him join the boxing club. His Dad had been all for it, but his Mom refused to sign his permission form for ages, not until Zangan had sat her down and explained exactly how he ran the club, along with what training would consist of and promising to ensure the safety of her son.

He'd probably yell at him for a few minutes, then ask why he hadn't come back, once he knew what had happened, he'd be overly concerned about Arleen. He wouldn't admit it, Zangan didn't admit things like that, but he'd keep an extra eye on her, speaking to her more and asking her questions about her old club.

"Nah, not really. Just don't freak out if he yells at me, that's his way of saying he cares about me."

"Lucky, when Chris shouts at me, it's generally my cue to run."

Matt frowned as he glanced down the inches that separated their heights, that was twice she'd mentioned Chris that night, and both times her voice had been kind of mocking. He'd heard Reno mention the guy several times, usually accompanied with swears or choice nicknames. He didn't really know the man; Matt had fought at his club, but never had any real interaction with the man. But Arleen's answer to Zangan's question about her book earlier confused him, why would he try to prevent her from registering under another club?

He could understand that as a coach, the man didn't want to lose one of his boxers to a rival club. But Arleen had moved in with her Dad, in Edge. Surely, the man understood that her registering under a different club was unavoidable. He couldn't expect her to travel to Costa del Sol just to train.

"Hey Arly, why d'you think Chris won't give you your book?"

Arleen cringed; she had left herself wide open for that question. Her Dad had told the other parents about why he'd taken her away from Costa del Sol, but Arleen hadn't told anyone else about it. She didn't want her new friends to treat her odd because of it. She didn't want anyone to know that she'd been too petrified to tell her Dad. She was more than capable of looking after herself; she would fight tooth and nail against anyone who wanted to hurt he … anyone except for Chris.

She owed it to Matt to give him a truthful answer; something told her she could confide in him. He hadn't judged her or brushed away her little freak-out moment back at the pedestrian crossing. She knew he wouldn't turn around and tell the others about her freaking out either. Not that any of them would judge her or laugh at her, but there were some things she just wanted to keep to herself. Arleen took a shaky breath as she decided to be honest; she looked up to her friend as she spoke.

"Do you know why Dad took me away from Costa del Sol?"

"The crash?"

Arleen shook her head as they continued walking towards Seventh Heaven. That was part of the reason, but she knew Anthony's input about Chris had been a pivotal factor in her father's decision. With or without Anthony's help, she would have told her Dad about Chris, she's promised Toni and Ryan she would; she wouldn't have broken her promise to them.

"No, but I guess that helped get me away quicker … you know that Chris is my Mom's fiancé, right?"

Matt nodded slowly, unsure of where the conversation was going, but listening intently nonetheless.

"They've been together about five-ish years, just after he set up the gyms. He … he's not the nicest of guys, Matt."

The eighteen year old frowned as he noticed a quiver slip into Arleen's voice. She was shaking again, not as much as she had been after the pedestrian crossing, but enough for him to notice.

"Go on."

"He likes to use his fists outside of the ring, if you know what I mean."

"On your Mom?"

Arleen had to do her best to stop herself from laughing - her Mom? God no. He would never touch her mother; he would never say a word against her mother. He would take it all out on her though - his anger, his frustrations, his boredom. She knew how to protect herself and how to fight back, but he was a lot stronger than her and heavier. When he hit her, the teeth rattled in her head.

"No, not _her_."

Matt stopped dead in his tracks, realization sinking in; if it wasn't her Mom, then it was Arleen. His mind automatically switched to what he knew; Arleen was a lightweight boxer, she was good, no doubt. But Chris was heavier than he was, she wouldn't stand a chance against him. Regardless of skills, with that much of a weight and height advantage, no one stood a snowball's chance in hell.

"Are you serious?"

Arleen blinked in surprise at Matt's angered tone. Her eyes quickly glanced downwards, almost ashamed to meet his gaze. Her cheeks reddening as a blush spread across them.

"Y-yeah … he's not a nice guy, Matt. If I get into an argument with Mom, he takes her side and hits me. If I look at him the wrong way, he hits me … my teach - uncle, he told Dad about what Chris was doing. That's why he brought me to live with him here."

How could a guy use his fists against a girl? He couldn't understand that. Zangan had put him sparring with Cath before, he had refused to hit the girl, just blocked her blows. He hadn't wanted to hurt her. He wasn't being sexist or demeaning, but he could never willingly turn around and hit a girl. Chris was heavier and taller than him, more akin to Rude in his build; Arleen was only around Elena's height.

Why hadn't she told Reno sooner? He was still getting used to the idea of Reno being a Dad, but he knew the man well enough to know he wouldn't stand for someone harming his daughter.

"Why didn't you tell your Dad sooner, Arly? Why didn't you report him or something?"

"Do you know how hard it is to tell someone that, when you're _terrified_ of the guy. He **_hurt_** me Matt - on a regular basis. If I had told anyone, he would have taught me a lesson. Who could I report him to? Who'd believe me? He owns a chain of successful and profitable gyms - he brings a lot of revenue into the locality - no one would have believed me. They see this _perfect_ guy, with his fiancée and how _perfect_ he is, taking on a teenager as his step-daughter and training her and running his gyms - they don't see what goes on behind closed doors … no one would have helped me."

He suddenly felt guilty for questioning her, who was he to demand answers? Matt sighed as he noticed tears forming in her eyes; he wrapped his arm around her shoulders once more as they turned the corner to Seventh Heaven. He hated a guy who hit girls; nothing was lower in his opinion. It was a personal hate of his, it always had been, and he knew it always would be.

"I'm sorry Arly … forget the bastard. You're here now and we'd all jump to protect you in a heartbeat, you know that, right?"

Arleen nodded as she leaned against her friend's chest, hastily wiping away tears as they neared the door to Seventh Heaven. She knew that now, though it still surprised her. They had all been more concerned about her than her own Mother had. As far as they were concerned, teenagers and parents, she was just another member of the group now. She had a family that cared about her here in Edge.

"Bollocks…guess what rumours they're gonna be spreading."

Arleen glanced up, following Matt's gaze as he nodded towards the bar; both Ross and Denzel waved out the window at them, smirks adorning each of their faces; Matt had his arm around her, while she leaned against the side of his chest … she didn't even want to know what rumours they were coming up with.

* * *

_**Thanks for reading :)**_


	12. Past

_**A/N: Hi :) This is a pretty short chapter. I wanted to try something new, I think for the next few chapters, I'm going to alternate between the main plot and a chapter concentrating on the past. I'm hoping it'll help explain how Reno and Kelly ended up the way they did.**_

* * *

He glanced up as the door of the room swung open, a flustered-looking blonde girl just about managed to keep her footing as she slipped on the way in. She didn't notice him leaning against the wall behind her, she only had eyes for the young teenager lying in the bed in front of them. It was about time someone showed up, it had been at least an hour since he'd managed to contact someone on the kid's phone.

Reno assumed they were siblings, or cousins or something. There only seemed to be a few years of difference between their ages. Then again, they could be a couple. If that was case, they had one hell of a love-hate relationship ... he had found her name under _'Kelly_Bitch'_ in the youngster's phone. He wasn't one to preach about the perfect relationship and he had his own share of failed romances, but even he hadn't resorted to such labels yet.

"Y'know, it's not really a good idea for a kid his age to go walk-abouts in the slums … specially not when the gangs are fighting over shit."

Kelly spun on her heels, eyes wide with fright as they locked onto the owner of the voice; a lanky teenager stood behind her, with unkempt red hair and crisp blue eyes, he looked to be around her age, give or take a year. Her initial fright was quickly replaced with anger as she fought to regain her composure; what right did he have to lecture her? What was he even doing in her brother's room? She didn't know him, she doubted Anthony knew him.

"Who the hell are you? And save the lecture - what would you know?"

He knew a lot more than she obviously did. He had known to steer clear of the areas the gangs frequented. He could look after himself if he ran into trouble, unlike the kid who was now lying in the hospital bed. As for the girl, she wouldn't last five minutes on her own. He considered himself to be a good judge of character and right now he had her pinned as a spoilt little girl with notions of herself.

Reno shrugged as he pushed himself away from the wall, flashing the girl a smirk as walked towards the window. He leaned his back against its sill as he kept his eyes on the girl.

"I'm the guy who found your brother, cousin, friend - whatever and brought him here. And I know enough to make sure I don't end up in the same situation he did. How about we try _**thank-you Reno**_, huh?"

His direct words and unwavering glare quickly put her back in her box … it was her fault Anthony was now in hospital. Their father had warned her not to let him outside that night, but he had annoyed her; she had locked him out of the house. It was her fault that her younger brother had been out roaming the slums, instead of being at home. It was her fault he had gotten hurt.

Kelly looked away as her mind raced to find a retort or an excuse. She wasn't sorry that he had been hurt, that had been his own fault. But she did regret the fact that her parents were going to blame her because of it. They were still in the corridor outside, speaking to a doctor. Her Dad was furious with her; his uncharacteristic silence stood testament to the extent of his anger. Her mother was upset, but she wouldn't blame her; hopefully she could calm her father down a bit. Kelly groaned as she pushed the thoughts to the back of her head, choosing to change the subject instead.

"He's my brother … what happened to him?"

He'd gotten the crap kicked out of him for a start. Reno had been wasting time, hanging around sector seven, when he'd stumbled upon a local gang. He had been about to walk away and mind his own business when he'd noticed several of the gang's members using a younger teenager as a punching-bag, before a glint of silver had caught his attention.

Reno had always prided himself on his agility, but even he hadn't been fast enough to prevent the knife from sinking into the kid's side.

"Your brother got caught up in a gang feud - kicked the crap out of him and stabbed him … I got him here and found your name in his phone."

"You can go now."

An indignant snort was his only answer, followed by the youngster pointedly hoisting himself up onto the window sill behind him; he had no intention of going anywhere, particularly not now that he had been _dismissed_. He pitied the kid lying in the bed, no wonder he'd decided to try his luck at wandering around the slums. If she were his sister, Reno would prefer getting caught up in fights over being stuck in the same house as her.

He smiled and shook his head as Kelly glared at him before gesturing towards the door.

"I don't take orders from anyone, specially not from spoilt little girls - I think you're wanted."

Kelly took a breath to let fly at the redhead, but cut herself short he nodded towards the door behind her. Whatever anger she had built up quickly dissipated as faltered under her father's stern gaze. He watched Reno for a moment, before silently gesturing for her to follow him; no words and no shouting - not in front of people. He'd wait until she was outside before he yelled at her.

She sighed, casting a final glare towards the still smirking redhead before she followed her father; this was all Anthony's fault. Why couldn't he have just shut up and gone to bed or something? He wouldn't have found himself locked out if he hadn't annoyed her in the first place, but something told her that her father wouldn't be so understanding.

Reno cringed as he registered the raised voices outside the room, it sounded like the man who had gestured for Kelly to follow him had last his temper, he could hear Kelly's voice somewhere in the mix, along with another woman's. Part of him wanted to go and defend Kelly, despite the fact that he'd only met her. He knew what it was like to get the brunt of a parent's anger, he knew what it was like to constantly get the blame, that was the main reason he spent his time roaming around the slums.

But his dignity wouldn't let him go help her; if she wanted to act like a headstrong bitch, then that had consequences. Reno scratched the back of his head as he tried to block out the shouting, his attention turning to the cracked ceiling tiles above his head as he mumbled to himself.

"If you're gonna be a bitch, you're gonna get treated like one…"

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_**A/N: The next chapter will be the main plot. Let me know what you guys thought about this chapter. If you liked it, I'll continue alternating until I have the background of their relationship covered :)**_


	13. Agreement

_**A/N: Hi again - here's the next chapter. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far, along with adding this and me to your fave stories/author list - also serious thanks to the anon review for the last chapter ;)**_

* * *

"Here, I think you forgot something…"

Arleen ducked as she walked through the door to Seventh Heaven, hiding herself behind Matt's taller frame as Denzel sent a gear-bag their way.

"Thanks Arly!"

Matt glanced over his shoulder as he grabbed the bag; nice to know she'd protect him if need be. He shot Denzel a wary glare as he tossed the bag to the floor, knowing the young man also had Arleen's bag as ammo. The eighteen-year-old mentally prepared himself for a lecture or interrogation, he had a relatively good idea of what Denzel and Ross had been telling the adults about their absence.

He could tell Reno why they hadn't gone back to the club, but he didn't want to announce it in front of the whole bar. Arleen had told him about Chris, not the others. Whether she would eventually tell them was anyone's guess, he assumed she eventually would, but he wasn't about to abuse her trust.

Reno groaned inwardly as he watched the two teenagers, he knew he had to tell Arleen about her Mom's newest spanner in the works, but that didn't mean wanted to. He had talked it over with Elena and some of the other parents, they all agreed that with what Tseng had said; he didn't have a choice, his hands were tied. Though the President had offered the use of the company's board of lawyers, he still suggested that they play by Kelly's rules for the time being.

The Turk stood slowly, already knowing how Arleen was going to react to his announcement. He didn't like it anymore than she would, his only consolation was that Anthony was still in Costa del Sol, at least he could keep an eye on things and let him know if anything happened … god knew Kelly wouldn't tell him. Reno nodded his head towards the door leading to the house section of Seventh Heaven as Arleen stepped back out from behind Matt.

"I need to talk to you for a minute."

Arleen frowned as she stepped away from behind Matt; shrugging her shoulders as he gave her a questioning glance. Her Dad wasn't the type of person to get worked up over things, but she knew something was bothering him; he wouldn't look her in the eye.

The seventeen-year-old did as asked, following her father through the door and pushing it shut behind them. Her head spun with possible problems - could he seriously be angry about her and Matt's disappearing act? She wasn't that kind of girl, she wouldn't go behind his back like that. He was just a friend, one who had given her a shoulder to cry on when she'd needed it. Any of the other guys would have done the same thing … probably.

"If this is about me and Matt - nothing happened, I'd te-"

Reno shook his head as he leaned back against the radiator in Tifa's hall; he wished it was simply about that. But he was going with Tseng's advice on that particular subject too. She was seventeen, old enough to make her own decisions and mistakes. He wasn't about to throw up a ton of red tape, but if she ever got her heart broken, he'd ensure he'd break something of the lad's.

"No, it's not that … look, Arly, your Mom called me earlier."

Her blood immediately ran cold; what did she want? Her mother wouldn't call unless she wanted something or she wanted to start something. She certainly wasn't calling to see how her daughter was doing. Arleen hadn't seen her since the morning of the crash. According to her Dad, she hadn't come to the hospital either. Why she had ever expected her to, she didn't know.

Unless there had been a sale at the hospital, her mother was definitely not interested in showing up. Not that she had anything else to do, the woman didn't work or have a pastime, unless bitching counted as one. They had never had a good relationship, but it had worsened as she'd gotten older. Arleen crossed her arms as she met her father's gaze, doing little to keep the iciness from her voice.

"What did _**she**_ want?"

"To reverse our custody agreement; she wants you to spend a weekend in Costa del Sol each month."

Arleen shook her head adamantly; she wasn't going back there. She didn't care how or why her Mom suddenly wanted her there, but it wasn't for either of their benefit - Chris had put the idea in her head. If she went back, he'd kill her. Anthony had told her Dad about what he did to her, but he'd think she told him. And now she'd even told Matt … he'd warned her not to tell anyone.

"No - Dad you can't make me go back there."

This was exactly how he'd pictured the conversation going. But what was he supposed to do, say no an risk a court-order taking her away altogether? He took no joy in telling her she had to go back, it was the last thing he'd ever planned on doing. Between that prick her mother was involved with and the crash, he knew it was one place Arleen had been glad to get away from.

"I don't have a choice, Arly. If I say no, she's gonna go crying to her lawyer … they can't get access to my records; they're not gonna side with me on this."

"Dad, please? I don't want to go back there!"

Arleen stared at her father in shock as he remained silent, she didn't mean to shout, but he didn't understand; Chris would kill her. He'd warned her not to speak to anyone about what happened in their house, now it looked like she'd gone and told the whole of the ShinRa company - it didn't matter if she argued with him, he'd just hit her and shut her up. He'd punish her for opening her mouth, he wouldn't care if it was true or not. Her mother wouldn't stop him, she'd just stand to the side as usual, adding in her own little comments and telling her she should have known better.

"Dad?"

"Arleen, I don't have a choice."

He was damned if he did and damned if he didn't. If Arleen didn't go to Costa del Sol, Kelly would go and get her lawyers involved. No judge would side with him if they were denied access to his records. If she did go, he felt like he was breaking a promise to her. It was one of the first times Reno could honestly say he felt helpless in a situation; it was out of his hands for once.

* * *

"That was an _**awfully**_ long run."

Matt's mood quickly continued its downwards spiral as Denzel tossed Arleen's gear-bag towards him; he was sure both Denzel and Ross had had a lovely discussion about what he and Arleen had been up to. If it were any other girl, the eighteen-year-old would have laughed it off or even joined in with the teasing, but he wasn't exactly happy with them having fun at his and Arleen's expense; they didn't know what had taken them so long; they had no idea that Arleen had freaked out over the car.

"Really not in the humour for an interrogation - there's nothing to tell."

The eighteen year old purposely ignored the numerous sets of eyes focused on him, as he sat down in one of the bar's corner seats. He didn't want his mood to lighten, but found it increasingly difficult to keep the smile from his face as Aiveen threw herself into the chair opposite; ruby eyes scanning him as she went into lie-detector mode.

"Nothing to tell?"

"Not a thing."

"At _**all**_?"

"Nothing."

"Everything's okay though?"

"Everything's fine."

He wasn't lying or keeping anything from them. Matt was an honest person by nature, and even when he lied, he tended to look uncomfortable or guilty; he wasn't lying or hiding anything. He usually avoided direct eye contact when he hid things, so did Ross and Robbie, though they tended to enjoy keeping things hidden from everyone else.

Aiveen shrugged as she sat back into her chair, content that nothing had happened between her two friends, despite the fact that she thought they'd make a cute couple. It wasn't her place to play matchmaker. For all Aiveen knew, Arleen could have left a boyfriend back in Costa del Sol, it wouldn't be very friendly of her to start chatting about possible relationships if that were the case.

The petite teenager gambled a quick glance around the bar; their parents had given up eavesdropping on their conversation, Denzel still had a bit of an interest in what they were discussing, but seemed more interested in whatever Rayna was saying. The rest of her friends, however, were looking disgusted with Matt's lack of details.

"Is that honestly all you're gonna say? What the hell took you so long?"

Matt faltered as Ross leaned down on his shoulder; the usual mocking tone was absent from his voice. Ross wasn't looking for something to use as ammo or something to poke fun at. But what was he supposed to do? If he tried to brush Ross off, the blond wouldn't drop the subject and would probably draw more attention to it.

He couldn't mention what Arleen had revealed about Chris. But he could give them the bare details - he had to come up with some kind of excuse for missing training. If he didn't come up with an excuse now, he'd be forced to do so when he got home and his parents questioned him … not to mention when Zangan confronted him over skipping out on training. Matt sighed as Aiveen moved from across the table to the chair next to him.

"Some guy was speeding, we were at a crossing and he nearly hit Arleen - she freaked out a bit."

And Aiveen was gone from the table, dancing around her boyfriend's attempt to catch her, before disappearing through the door Arleen and Reno had stepped through earlier.

* * *

This wasn't fair. She had finally managed to get away from her mother's fiancé, and now she had to walk straight back into his house. What was she supposed to say to him? He had warned her not to tell a soul, he had threatened her to keep her mouth shut. How was she supposed explain about her father knowing? And Anthony?

She hadn't exactly told her father about Chris - she had promised to tell him and had fully intended on doing so - but Anthony had beat her to it. Somehow, she knew the explanation of her uncle spilling the beans wouldn't sit any better with Chris. For three long years, the man had plagued her life. She had been a member of his boxing club since she was about twelve or thirteen. He had simply been an overbearing coach who had lectured her and got pushed her to do better … but then he had fallen into a relationship with her mother and the cage and well and truly come down.

In Costa del Sol, she wasn't allowed to go out if it wasn't with Toni and Ryan. Even then, Chris was reluctant to allow her to go hang out with Ryan. It wasn't that he outwardly ever said no, he preferred to whisper his directions into her mother's ears, allowing her to relay them as her own ideas. She wasn't allowed to disagree with her mother, regardless of whether or not she was right. She wasn't allowed to have a boyfriend.

Again, Chris had never outwardly put red tape up around the boyfriend topic. He never actually voiced his rules, but made them clear in other ways. She'd had a couple of boyfriends in Costa del Sol, but none of the relationships had lasted very long. They always made some kind of excuse, but she knew the real reason. It was Chris. The way he made everyone feel uncomfortable and unwelcome. How he demanded she spent any of her spare time training - she wasn't permitted time for a relationship.

Edge was the complete opposite. Her Dad didn't force her into anything. All of his friends were more than she could have ever imagined. Aiveen, Ross, Matt and all the others were nothing short of amazing - Matt had proven that earlier - and yet her Dad was telling her she had to turn around and walk straight back into the hellhole she had crawled out of.

"I swear - look at me Arly - I swear to you, I'll figure something else out after this, okay?"

Arleen nodded slowly as she let herself get pulled into a tug - what would crying or arguing anymore achieve, besides making her Dad feel even more guilty than he obviously did. This wasn't his fault … maybe if she had told him about things way back when they had started, she would be standing in the hallway of Seventh Heaven wiping tears from her cheeks?

Hindsight was the foresight of fools; if, but, maybe, how about - it didn't change a damn thing. If she had told Toni to put her seatbelt on, things might have turned out differently? But she had chosen to walk home instead of bumming a lift from Ryan, maybe he wouldn't have skidded at the precise moment the truck had? Maybe if she had talked to her Dad about Chris a few years ago, he wouldn't frighten her as much as he did now?

"I just … I know he'll be angry."

He didn't need to ask who 'he' was. He knew exactly who Arleen meant. And it was be his fault. Reno knew his decision to pay Kelly and Chris a visit hadn't been his brightest of moments, but he had done what any father would have done in his place. He wasn't sorry for hitting the guy. If anything, he regretted not hitting him harder, and possibly Kelly. But the Turk was under no illusions that his actions would result in a frosty atmosphere for Arleen.

Regardless of what he had done - he was damned if he was going to sit back and let Chris hurt his daughter again. He was playing by Kelly's little games, but he was more than willing to disregard them at a moments notice. Reno sighed as he spoke; he'd had most of the day to think scenarios through, and this was the best one he could come up with.

"He won't touch you. I promise. You have my number and Rude's - one call or text and we're there. I'll let Anthony know you'll be there for the weekend too, I'm sure he'd just love to drop in and say hi to your Mom."

Even Arleen found it difficult to keep the smile from spreading across her lips … her mother had never even mentioned her younger brother. Anthony certainly hadn't mentioned her mother - a warm greeting of shock and delight was certainly off the table.

"A happy family reunion … I wouldn't hold your breath."

"I know better than that. But you've got to admit, your Mom's face would be priceless."

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_**A/N: Thanks for reading ;)**_


	14. Honesty

_**A/N: *Meek Wave* Been a while, huh? What can I say, I fell off the bandwagon and into RPing. And I have to say, I'm grateful that I have. I think my writing has improved thanks to the constant replies, and here's hoping you like this ;) Again, it's another 'past' chapter. I mentioned alternating between them before, and so far people seem to like it.**_

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Kelly pulled the door open, rolling her eyes as they fell upon the usual suspect; unkempt red hair, clear blue eyes and that infuriating grin of his. In the weeks that had passed since their meeting at the hospital, Reno had been turning up at their house more and more. He and Anthony had struck up a solid friendship, despite the few years that separated them. The boy was closer to her age than her brother's, if anything he even had a year or two on her. But since when did age stand in the way of true love? That had been her jibe of choice with the last fortnight.

Why he couldn't go make friends with some other little twerp was beyond her. Sure, it was great to have Anthony pawned off on someone else for a while, but Reno had the unusual knack of irking her. He didn't even have to say things at times … that ever-present smirk of his was enough to foul her mood. Any time they spoke, the conversation seemed to end with her stalking off and cursing the redhead. Kelly stuck her foot across the doorway, barring his way.

"Don't you have your own home to go to or something?"

Reno shrugged, dancing around Kelly's outstretched foot.

"Don't you have the dreams of some innocent kid to go shatter or something?"

He could practically feel her gaze boring into the back of his skull; hear the scowl she sported as he walked away from her. He didn't hate her, far from it … if anything, she amused him. Reno found endless entertainment in her high-strung temperament. Seventeen, no job, no affiliations, not much of a home to call a home - nine times out of then, the youngster found himself at a loose end. He held out his hand, letting his fingertips ghost along the wallpaper as he strolled down the hallway, towards the kitchen.

"He's not here … he's still at school. You may as well leave."

That pretentious lilt had found its way back into her voice. Reno pivoted on his heels, shoulders lifting in a slight shrug as he held up his grime-covered hands, "Damn, and here I thought he'd been playing hide-and-go-seek with me all this time … your Dad mentioned his bike was giving trouble, I offered to look at it for him." He pushed the door to the kitchen open with his backside, turning around just in time to side-step the dog's water dish. He didn't bother to stop the door from swinging shut - she'd end up following him in here anyhow. She always did.

Whether that stood as a testament to her curiosity or her deep-rooted mistrust of him, he didn't know. He didn't particularly care all that much either. Reno let the water run for a few moments before slipping his hands into the sink, scrubbing away the majority of the grease and grime that had managed to etch its way up his forearms. His gaze wandered the now-familiar kitchen … the trinkets that lined the window above the sink, the dog's chew toys beneath the table, a small television perched on the counter across from the table, school reports and notices plastered the fridge door.

"Never seen a school report before?"

He blinked, only then realising he'd been staring at the printed reports. Reno turned off the tap, reaching for the dish cloth to dry his hands, "Course - I was an honour's student, I'll have you know.'

Now it was her turn to be surprised. Kelly dropped hung her bag on the chair nearest her, brows furrowing as she showed some genuine interest in this twist of his story. He never mentioned his own family, nor much about himself in general. Maybe that's what annoyed her so much about him - he seemed to wriggle out of every question posed to him.

The indignation of his voice seemed to add weight to the admission, dragging her guard down all the more as she raked a hand through her hair, pulling it back into ponytail, "Oh, really?"

"Sure." He dropped the cloth back onto the counter, "It was a honour for me to be in the class."

And there was that stupid grin again. Kelly stared at him for a moment, the shred of interest she'd shown warping into annoyance once more. She shook her head, a sigh of complete and utter exasperation echoing throughout the kitchen, "You asshole, you can't take anything seriously."

"It annoys you, doesn't it?" He moved to block the door out of the kitchen, words breathed out over a laugh as she rolled her eyes, "The fact that I'm not the caring and sharing kind of guy, doesn't it?" His brow creased, corners of his mouth upturned in the remnants of a smile. He narrowed his eyes, pointedly moving and canting his head to the side to hold onto her gaze, to stop her from turning away and throwing another insult his way. "That's your problem with me, isn't it?"

"No." She lied, not believing her own voice. Kelly moved to try and step around him, "Don't be so full of yourself, Red … you're just a pain in the ass in general, no specific reason." Her eyes flitted to the floor, the door behind him, the flaking paint on the wall to the side of him - anywhere but his face. Her cheeks matched his hair in hue at this stage, burning bright red as she tried to grasp the door handle, "Move, Reno!"

A blind man could have seen the blush that dashed across her cheeks … and if not, then he surely would have felt the heat of that blush. Reno moved back against the door, letting her grab the handle, but blocking it nonetheless. The smirk he'd sported softened into a smile as he watched her - pleased with himself having finally figured out her issues with him, "Lighten up, Kelly. The only reason I annoy you is because I know how easy it is to do it." He leaned his weight forward, letting her open the door a fraction before shifting his weight and forcing it shut again, earning a dangerous glare from the flustered blonde, "See … you just proved my point."

"You're an asshole."

"I'm a loveable asshole." He countered, letting her struggle for another moment or two before stepping away from the door. Reno reached for his jacket, "Make a deal with you, blondie." He glanced to the clock on the wall, tugging the jacket on as he turned to face Kelly, "I'll answer any questions you have … complete and utter honesty - but the price is one date. What d'you say?"

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_**A/N: Back to 'present' in the next chapter :)**_


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